


Enter Sandman

by Pandorah



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, twisted fairy tale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-24
Updated: 2014-03-13
Packaged: 2018-01-13 16:00:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1232533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandorah/pseuds/Pandorah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Sam get a call from a fellow hunter in Boston who needs help on a case. Children are being attacked and it's not from demons. The Winchesters soon learn that not all bed time stories are make believe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first Supernatural fanfic. It may not be perfect but I'm really happy with it. It is completely written but I am posting parts at a time to see if people like it. It does not follow the time line of the show really, it's meant to be a 'between the plot' episode. I guess you can say it takes place during the current season mostly but without the current drama that is going on? None of the past events are mentioned so you can take this as it is. Please tell me what you think of this 'intro' and I'll get the next part up faster ;)

The halls of the Children’s Hospital were mostly silent as most of the occupants were asleep with it being after midnight. The sounds of shoes squeaking on the tile floors and the beep of of machines were the main noises with the occasional soft laughter from chatting nurses and fellow workers. The smell of antiseptic was in the air along with a slight lemon scent from the janitors cleaning supplies as he mopped the floor. A gentle rain fell outside and pattered softly against the windows and the roof in a soothing sound, nature's lullaby, making one want to drift off to sleep.

The peaceful night was shattered as the sound of something breaking followed by screaming echoed through the halls. An aid came running down the hall out of breath and looking frustrated, her hair a mess and scrubs soaked through.

“Betty, I am not dealing with him again tonight.” she spoke, anger evident in her words. “This is the third time this week that he has thrown the water at me and I’ve had it. He should be restrained!” the blond woman snapped at the nurse before storming past to go and get dried off.

The nurse was an older woman in her mid to late fifties with light greying hair and a pair of big framed glasses that were constantly sliding down her nose. She was broad shouldered and short, but kind looking. The kids often asked her if she was Mrs. Clause. She would just give them a gentle smile and a wink to make them laugh.

She gave a sad smile as she watched her aid ran off and down the hall she had come from. She knew which patient was causing the trouble without even having been told. The boy was twelve and had been here for half his life now and he would not be leaving anytime soon. Because of his disease, he had a very low immune system and would die if not kept in a sterile environment. His parents had given up on them ever finding a cure and had basically abandoned him. It was not an untypical story.

Betty stopped by the small kitchen and grabbed a snack and juice for the boy before making her way down the hall to his room. A janitor was just leaving his room after mopping up the floor and the boy was sitting up in his bed, legs pulled tight to his chest, and glaring at anyone who looked at him.

“Hello, Johnny, how are you feeling tonight?” Betty went over and set the snacks down on his bedside tray and smiled. “I brought you your favorite in case you are hungry.” she sat on the edge of his bed and watched him for a moment, waiting for him to say something but he remained silent. “Did you have another nightmare?”

Johnny mumbled something into his arms before he slowly lifted his head to look at the nurse. His eyes were red and watery but he was managing to hold back his tears. “I want to go outside. I’m tired of being stuck in this bed and room all the time. I just wanted to open the window so I could feel the rain.” the last part was said into his arms as he hid his face again.

“Sweetie, you know why you can’t go outside.” Betty said softly and put a hand on his lowered head to ruffle his hair. “I understand your frustration, but you have to consider your health.”

“I don’t care anymore, I’m dying anyway!” he got up off the bed and went over to stand next to the window. “Tomorrow I am going outside. I don’t care if it kills me.”

Pain and sorrow filled Bettys eyes at the words and she got up off the bed to go over to Johnny. “You don’t mean-”

“Just get out of here! Leave me alone!” Johnny snapped and shoved past the nurse to go lock himself in his bathroom.

Betty stared at the bathroom door knowing that when he got into one of these moods that he would not be coming out anytime soon. She also knew that if she tried to get him to come out, it would only make things worse. Knowing there was nothing else she could do for him, she left the room to go back to the main desk to continue her work.

The floor was quiet once again except for the sound of rain that was now falling down harder than before. Another nurse pushing the medicine cart went past and gave a smile and nod in greeting before continuing on. A shrill scream was heard followed by panicked voices and more screaming. Betty got up from the desk and ran down the hall to see what was going on.

The other nurse stood outside of Johnnys room, a hand clutched to her chest and eyes wide as she sobbed, her other hand pointing into his room. When Betty saw the cause, a hand quickly came up to her mouth as she gasped, then fought down her own scream. 

Lying on the floor unmoving was Johnny, a puddle of blood under his head and his mouth open in a silent scream. Betty ran over to him to check to see if he was alive, only to shrink back when she realized his eyes were missing. His hands were covered in blood as if he had tried to stop his eyes from bleeding, or as if he’d clawed his own eyes out. His eyes were no where to be seen, just more blood.

Unable to hold it back anymore, Betty screamed.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the boys to make an entrance.

Dean and Sam sat at Bobbys table eating breakfast, Sam with his laptop open beside him and Dean devouring the bacon in front of him. Bobby came in from the other room and sat down at the table with them, dropping a big book down in front of him.

“I still don’t know what the hell we are dealing with, but if we keep waiting, more kids are going to die.” the older hunter flipped through the book and rubbed his face. He’d been up all night researching but so far he’d come up empty. “You know it’s bad when we get called by another hunter about it.”

“Three kids killed so far and two in critical condition. The only wounds are their eyes having been ripped out of their heads. There were no visitors at the hospital during the attacks and no signs of trouble before they happened.” Sam read through the article online hoping for more facts, but nothing they did not already know.

“I guess the only thing to do is to go out there and try to figure out what we’re dealing with and how to gank it.” Dean said around a mouthful of eggs. “Maybe by the time we get there, that Hank guy will have more information for us.”

Dean refused to fly and so the brothers drove across the country to Boston, Massachusetts. By the time they got there, they were both irritable and exhausted. They found the cheapest motel they could and crashed for the rest of the night. In the morning, they got a call from the hunter they were meeting and agreed to meet at a local restaurant at lunch time. 

“Winchesters, back here!” the man waved from across the room. “I can’t believe you two drove all the way here.” he said to them as they sat in the booth across the table from him.

“Dean doesn’t like flying.” Sam said with a smirk.

Dean gave his brother a look, “Anyway, have you found out anything since we last talked?” 

“No, but there was another attack.” Hank said with a shake of his head and scratched his beard.

Before he could continue, the waitress came over to take their orders. Sam just got coffee and Dean got his usual cheeseburger with extra bacon. When the waitress left, Hank pulled out a file from the bag that sat beside him and placed it on the table.

“These are the children that have been attacked so far. They are different ages, genders, and are in for different reasons. The attacks seem to be random, which is going to make it hard to catch whatever it is that is attacking them.”

Sam took the folder and started flipping through it, a pained expression on his face. “So young. Who would want to hurt children?”

“Do you really think demons care about the age of their victims, Sammy?” Dean said with a raised brow. “Let’s not forget that Lilith would wear little girls while on ‘shore leave’ and murder their families.”

Hank nodded, “That’s right. Some demons especially like the taste of children. What is throwing me off is that whatever is attacking them is only taking their eyes. It doesn’t even care if they live or die afterwards.”

The waitress was back with their order and Deans eyes lit up at the sight of his food. The womans hand had not even left the plate before he was picking up the burger and biting into it. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and a moan more suited for the bedroom than a restaurant came out of his mouth. The waitress hurried away, blushing, and his brother laughed.

Hank looked at the younger hunter with a raised brow. “Man, it’s just a burger.”

“Not just a burger,” Dean said and took another bite and gave another little moan. “A friggin awesome burger!”

Sam looked over towards the counter area and saw their waitress watching them. He could see her blushing from where he sat and it only intensified when she noticed him watching her. He rolled his eyes.

“You mentioned that the first victim is conscious now? Do you think we can go and talk to him? Maybe he saw something before he...couldn’t.”

“Yeah, he’s awake, but he’s got an attitude problem. Apparently he was causing a fuss right before the attack.” Hanks eyes left Dean and focused on Sam. “I already talked to the woman he was arguing with, one of the aides, and she’s clean. You’ll want to speak with the head nurse. Her name is Betty Sanders and she saw him a few minutes before the attack.”

Sam signaled their waitress over and asked for the check as his brother shoved the rest of his burger into his mouth. After paying for their food, the trio left the restaurant and split up, Sam and Dean going to the hospital and Hank going to coroners to examine the bodies. 

When they got to the hospital and flashed their badges, they were allowed to go in. There were three couples in the main area talking with the nurse and police, either on the verge of tears or already crying. They were the parents of the children that had died. Dean gave his brother a sad look and they hurried to the desk to ask about Johnny.

“Excuse me, I’m Special Agent Jones and this is my partner Agent Smith.” Dean said as he held up his fake badge. “Are you Betty Sanders?”

The woman nodded, her eyes red from crying but she had pulled herself together well. “Yes, that’s me. What can I do for you gentlemen?”

“We were hoping that we could speak with Johnny if he is awake? I understand he is still recovering from the shock of this situation, but we would like to get started as soon as possible.” Sam gave her a soft smile and his normal sympathetic look he got when speaking to people in this type of situation. 

“Yes, that should be okay. Follow me.” Betty lead the brother to the elevator and up to the third floor where the long term patients were. “I’m going to need you boys to put on masks and gloves. Johnny is in a clean room.” Once that was done, she lead them down the hall and into the boys room. “Johnny, you have visitors.”

The boy turned towards them, and while he no longer had eyes, Dean could have sworn he was glaring at them. “What do you want?” his arms folded across his chest after he sat up in the bed. 

“If you need me, I’ll be just down the hall. Don’t mind his attitude too much, please. He’s had a rough time even before this. Cancer.” Betty said softly before leaving the room.

“Johnny, my name is Sam and this is my brother Dean.” Sam felt a bit awkward saying it when the boy could not even see who was talking to him. “Do you remember anything that happened before you were attacked? Maybe see who did it to you?”

His jaw clenched shut and he turned his head away. “I didn’t see anything.”

Johnny reached up and rubbed at the bandages over his eyes and then started picking at his fingers as if he had something stuck under his fingernails. His posture was a bit stiff and a sound in the hallway had him jumping and turning back towards the door. Not being able to see after something like this probably had him terrified.

“Look, it’s okay if you are afraid-”

“I am not afraid!” Johnny snapped, cutting Dean off. “Just leave me alone.”

Dean did the opposite and moved towards the bed. The boy reminded him of himself when he was younger. Scared, confused, lost and trying to hold it all in so his dad and Sam wouldn’t see.

“I would be afraid if I were in your situation.” Dean said softly and ignored the surprised look his brother gave him. “Someone, or something, sneaks into your room and rips out your eyes, that’s terrifying.”

Johnny turned towards Deans voice and huffed. “Then that just makes you a baby. I wasn’t scared at all.”

“You are very brave, then. Since you were not afraid, you probably got a good look at him?” Sam gently urged for the boy to give them more details.

Johnny grinned then. “I told him that he didn’t scare me. That if he didn’t leave me alone that I’d throw water on him like I did the aid.” his smiled faded after that and he pulled his legs up to his chest. “He just smiled at me before throwing dirt in my face.”

“Dirt?” Sam looked around the floor but the mess had already been cleaned up. If there had been dirt of some kind on the floor, it was gone now. So much for that lead.

“Maybe it was more like...sand? It got in my eyes and they started to burn. No matter how much I rubbed them, they hurt. I even tried washing my face to get the dirt out but it didn’t work. My eyes just got really itchy. Then I was scratching them.” his hands were visibly trembling a bit as he recalled the encounter. “It hurt, but I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t stop.” his head dropped as he buried his face in his arms.

Dean and Sam looked at each other and frowned, both thinking the same thing. This was not sounding like any demon they had heard of. Instead of getting answers, they were just ended up with more questions.

“What did he look like?”

Johnny frowned as he thought back to the man that had attacked him. “It was an old man, but there was something wrong with him. His face was all...weird. He didn’t really look like a person. I only saw him for a few seconds. He disappeared after he threw the dirt in my face.” 

“Did he happen to say anything to you before he threw the dirt?” Dean asked but the boy shook his head.

“No. When I came out of the bathroom, he was standing right outside the door like he was waiting for me.” he frowned. “Sorry that I am not able to help you more.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ve already been a big help.” Sam said with a smile that went unseen.

“I’ll let you know when we catch whatever it was that did this to you, alright Johnny?” Dean said and put a hand gently on the boys back. He jumped a bit but relaxed quickly. “Until then, get some sleep.”

Dean and Sam went back out into the hallway, gently shutting Johnnys door behind them, before moving down to an empty part of the hallway. Sam pulled out the small notebook he carried around and scribbled down the things the boy had told them, then compared them to the notes he’d got from Hank.

“The more I learn about this case, the less it sounds like the work of a demon.” Sam huffed as he slid the notebook into his jacket pocket.

“Tell me about it. If more than eyes were being taken, then I’d think it could be a ghoul. Maybe some kind of ghost with a grudge against kids?” Deans voice dropped as an aid came their way. He could not help checking the brunette out as she passed. “I should go talk to someone to see if there has been anything else going on.” before Sam could object, Dean was going off down the hall after the aid.

The younger Winchester rolled his eyes. Hank had already gone over all of that before he’d contacted Bobby for help. Knowing that he would not be able to drag his brother away from flirting with the aids and nurses, he went down to the nurses station to call Hank. After talking with the older hunter and only finding out that the kids did infact claw their own eyes out, Sam then called Bobby.

Meanwhile, Dean had finished talking with the first aid, Jenna, and was now talking to a short blond man named Richard who openly flirted with the hunter. If this was not important, Dean would have gone running by now, but the man knew all the gossip and going ons and was very talkative about it.

“It is really sad that this is happening, especially to children.” Richard sad with a sad look and gave a soft sigh. “In all my years of working in the healthcare field, I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s tragic.” he took a step closer to Dean putting him much too close for the hunters comfort. He gave a small smile then and looked the other male over for not the first time since he’d been approached. “My shift ends in fifteen minutes. Maybe you could take a break and we could go grab a beer?” 

Dean took a step back and found his back pressed against the wall, more wall to his left and a machine to his right. He could shove the man out of the way, but he knew that would only cause more trouble. He was trapped. His eyes went wide as he watch Richard bring a hand up and put it on his chest, a suggestive smile on his face.

“Or, we could go back to my place and I could help you relieve all that built up tension. I give a great massage.” 

“Uh, I, er…” Dean swallowed thickly as Richard started to slide a hand into his jacket, his fingers sliding between the top two buttons to touch skin. 

“Richard, how many times did I tell you to stop harassing our guests? and he’s a Federal Agent!” Betty said sternly, her hands on her hips.

Richard quickly jumped away from Dean and looked sheepish. “Sorry.” he mumbled before looking up at Dean and giving him a wink before heading off.

Dean let out a curse under his breath and leaned against the wall, this time in support, as the man left. 

“I’m sorry about him, Dean. Normally he behaves himself but he has a known weakness for men in suits.” Betty then chuckled, “I can’t blame him though. You are a very handsome man.”

Dean felt his cheeks heat, “Uh, thank you.” he cleared his throat to get his voice working properly again, then gave her a smile. “I’ll try not to distract your staff any longer than necessary.” 

Betty laughed and patted his arm as she went past him. When Dean moved away from the wall, he could see Sam a short distance away, trying not to laugh. He sent his brother a glare which did cause him to start laughing.

“Dude, I think he wanted to eat you.” Sam said when his brother was closer.

“Shut up, Sammy.” Dean moved past his brother, too embarrassed to meet his eyes. “We’ve got work to do.”


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see a new side of Castiel. And there is pie.

The motel they were staying in was their usual type; unimpressive but cheap and had the necessities. Sam sat at the small table with his laptop doing research while Dean flipped through a couple books they had checked out from the local library. Bobby still had not gotten back to them yet with any new information and Hank had left for another job.

Finally, unable to take anymore, Dean closed the book he was reading and tossed it onto the pile with a groan. He rubbed his slightly burning eyes as he rolled off the bed to his feet and stretched, a yawn following. He saw Sam smirk at him and he raised a brow.

“What?” he asked, his brother shaking his head in response.

“I was betting with myself how long it would take before you gave up.” Sam glanced at the clock on his computer and smiled. “Almost three hours. I think that’s a record for you.”

“You’re the nerd here, not me. I’m an action guy, just point me in the right direction.” he grabbed his keys from the nightstand and moved towards the door. “I’m going to get some grub and stretch my legs.”

“Whatever, Action Ken.” 

“Bitch!” Dean said over his shoulder as he headed out the door.

“Jerk!” Sam yelled back with a grin before the door shut behind his brother.

Dean slid into the leather seat of Baby and started her up. There were a few dinners in town but he already knew which one he was heading to; the one that had the big sign in the window that said ‘Fresh Baked Pies’. After spending a good chunk of the morning reading and finding out nothing, he needed a boost. Nothing gave him a boost like pie.

The diner was small, having only six tables and one waitress working, but it was cozy and welcoming. The seats were all soft enough that your butt wouldn’t fall asleep while you were eating, but firm enough to keep you upright. There was an old jukebox in the corner playing music quiet enough for the patrons to be able to converse with each other without shouting. A few of the tables were taken as the people who ate early lunch came in, usuals going by how the waitress greeted them by name. Dean made his way to an empty table towards the back and sat down letting out a pleased sigh as the delicious smells reached his nose.

The waitress was probably in her mid thirties with brunette hair, green eyes, and legs that stretched a mile. After he ordered a piece of pie for now and more food to go, he leaned out of his booth a bit to appreciate the sight as she walked away. The pants she wore were tight enough to show off her figure but not skin tight like the pants teenagers wore these days. Her blouse had the top couple buttons undone but did not show off an indecent amount of skin. She looked over her shoulder as she walked away and caught him staring and sent him a smile and a wink. Dean grinned back.

A familiar sound reached his ears and he continued to smile as he turned back around, “Hey Cas.”

“Hello Dean.” the deep voice greeted in return.

Dean had to do a double take and then tilted his head to the side, much like the angel across from him does, and he looked at him a bit confused. “Casual Friday?”

Castiel frowned a bit and shook his head. “Today is Wednesday.” he then realized what the other meant and he looked down at his outfit. 

Instead of his usual suit and trench coat, the angel wore a grey t-shirt that hugged his chest enough to show off the muscles underneath, dark denim jeans that were well fitted and a pair of red Converse sneakers. A small cross hung on a silver chain off his neck that rested just below the dip in his throat. When he brought his hands up to rest his arms on the table, his shirt pulled nicely and Dean couldn’t help but to look at his exposed arms normally hidden by his suit and coat.

“I thought that I should try to fit in more with you and Sam. Charlie also said something about ‘flaunt it if you’ve got it’ I don’t quite understand, but I thought there was no harm in indulging her.” Castiels blue eyes were locked onto Deans face, trying to read him. “Does it look bad? I admit that it has taking me a bit to get used to the tightness of the pants, but they are rather comfortable now. I can see why you prefer them to a suit.”

Dean didn’t realize he hadn’t replied yet until Castiel cocked his head to the side and said his name.

“Uh, no it looks fine.” Dean said and cleared his throat as he looked away for a moment. “I’m just not used to seeing you dressed like this. It’s great to finally seeing you relaxing a bit. The holy tax accountant look was starting to get old.” he grinned then when he looked back to the angel. He would have to remember to thank Charlie later.

“I am glad you approve.” he replied with a small smile.

The waitress was back carrying a tray with two cups, a pot of coffee and a plate with Deans apple pie on it. She put the pie down before setting down his coffee before turning and smiling at Castiel.

“Can I get you some coffee, Sweetheart?” she asked after her eyes looked him over, her smile growing as she liked what she saw. “Maybe something to eat?”

“Just coffee please. Thank you.” Castiel watched as she poured his drink then thanked her again before she went off. His blue eyes immediately shifted to Dean when a moan caught his ears.

“This pie tastes like Heaven.” Dean said before taking another bite, his eyes rolling back in pleasure.

Normally Castiel would have said something about Heaven not having a taste, but he was too distracted by Deans mouth and the sounds he was making. His tongue darted out to run over his lips the same time Deans did and he fought back a groan of his own. After a moment, he saw Dean stop eating and his blue eyes raised to meet green ones. He could see a faint flush on the elder Winchesters cheeks and saw him fidgeting.

“Uh, you want to try some?”

Castiel's eyes dropped back down to Deans mouth for a moment before he looked away and picked up his coffee. “No thank you.” as he drank from it his eyes moved back to look at the hunter and the hunter looked back.

Dean looked at him for another moment before returning to his pie, though this time being a bit more self conscious as he ate it. The look Castiel had been giving him made his insides a mess, worse than usual. He could see the lust in the angels eyes and it had startled him a bit. He had never been looked at like that before from him and he was unsure of how he felt about it. Not knowing what to do, he played it off like he didn’t notice it. The last thing he wanted was to make things awkward between them.

“Alright, your loss.” Dean finished the last few bites before leaning back in the seat. “So, what brings you here? I thought you were helping Gabriel with something upstairs?”

“He and Balthazar have things under control at the moment. I sensed your distress and thought I would come and help you out if I could.” 

Dean chuckled. He would never have imagined Gabriel and Balthazar to be working on restoring order back in Heaven, with Castiel helping too of course. He knew Balthazar would not stay there; he was only doing it as a favor. Even Castiel was unsure if Gabriel would stay or not. 

“Your timing is great, actually. Sam and I are stuck on a case and still have no idea what we are dealing with.”

Dean signaled the waitress over and she brought him the check and his to-go order. He paid for them both and as he got up, he couldn’t help but look over Castiel again as the other male left his seat and headed for the door. He unconsciously licked his lips as his eyes zeroed in on how the jeans clung tightly to his ass. The waitress caught him staring and she grinned and gave him a wink as he passed, causing him to flush and exit the diner quickly. Castiel slid into the passenger seat of the Impala, happy to ride shotgun for once, and took the food from Dean as he got in.

“I’ve heard about it. Something is in the hospital taking the eyes of children and some of them have died due to the shock.” the angels voice was sad and he looked out of the window for a moment. “It does not sound like typical demon behavior and if it was from an angel, then there would be no survivors.”

“That’s what we were thinking. Sam thinks that it could be a god. I hope not, I hate those bastards.” Dean muttered. “Always with the sacrificing of innocents and animals.”

His phone started ringing and he saw that it was from the hospital. After a short conversation, he cursed and hung up the phone. “That was Betty at the hospital. There’s been another attack.” his foot pressed down harder on the gas and he cursed again and dialed Sam. “Hey, Cas and I are on the way to the hospital. Another kid’s been attacked. Alright, see you there.” 

He was surprised to see that Castiel was still sitting beside him and had not flown off already. He frowned a bit at that, wondering what he was waiting for. Castiel saw his look and he gave a slight smile.

“You said before that you don’t like it when I fly off all the time. I also thought it best to stay with you since the people at the hospital don’t know me. I don’t want to cause you more trouble than you already have with this case.” as Dean continued to stare at him between glances to the road, he shifted a bit in his seat. “Should I go ahead of you instead? I could go in unseen if it would help.”

Dean gave a shake of his head and looked back to the road. “When I talked to Sam, he said he was just pulling into the hospital lot. There is not much we will be able to do for the kid at this point.” he saw Castiel open his mouth but he gave another shake of his head. “They are having their eyes ripped out of their heads, Cas. I know that you want to heal them, and it really sucks that they are blind now, but that will cause too many questions and potentially more problems. Let’s just wait on that for now, alright?”

Castiel gave a sigh and sunk down into his seat. He was not happy about that, but he understood. “Until we find whatever is doing this to them, it may be pointless to return their eyes right now. It could just go after them again and they may not survive it a second time.”

When they reached the hospital, they found Sam talking with Betty on the second floor and police officers checking all of the rooms. Some of the patients were sitting in the lobby and looking scared, but the aides were doing a good job at keeping them calm. A few of the more mobile kids were sitting on the lobby floor playing with some toys while their parents watched them, eyes constantly darting around at sudden noises, waiting for something to try and attack their child.

When Sam spotted them, he waved them over. Then did a double take when he noticed what the angel was wearing. His mouth moved silently for a moment as he fought for words, causing the angel to shift a bit and tug on his shirt.

“Castiel?” Sam said, eyes wide as he looked over the shorter male. “I didn’t even recognize you. What happened to your suit?”

Before Castiel could answer, Dean held up his hand. “We have more important things going on right now, Sam. Tells us what happened.”

Sam nodded and led them out of the middle of the hall to the end so they could talk without extra ears around, ducking under caution tape to get down the hall. “It was a girl this time, eight years old, named Sara. Her parents were in the room with her when it happened. They said they had been reading Sara a story to help her fall asleep when she suddenly started screaming and clawing at her eyes. They managed to hold her down to keep her from doing damage, but it didn’t work. Her eyes bled heavily and when Betty got in there to check them, they were just...gone.”

“I’m guessing that no one saw anything?” Castiel asked and Sam shook his head.

“No, and I checked the room. No sulfur, so it is not a demon.” Sam looked at the angel, once again looking over his outfit but said nothing about it. “Any ideas, Cas?” The angel shook his head sadly. 

Dean sighed in frustration and thumped his head against the wall. The longer it took them to figure out what was causing the attacks, the more dangerous things became. Castiel was looking back down the hall towards the police officers, head tilted to the side a bit as if he were listening to them talk.

The sound of a door opening down the hall caught their attention. Saras parents came out of her room with Betty, the nurse saying comforting words while the parents nodded their heads and followed her somewhere. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to speak to the girl alone, Dean immediately headed down the hall and into her room. Castiel went in with him while Sam stayed in the hall to keep an eye out.

The girl lay in her bed, her wrists bound to it to keep her from scratching herself, though it was useless at this point, the damage had already been done. Her pink nightgown was twisted around her body from struggling against the bindings. There were stuffed animals piled along one side of her bed and at her feet. There was a small pile of books in an empty chair beside the bed along with a battery powered night light in the shape of a star. The trashcan was filled with bloody tissues and an empty box lay beside it, covered in blood smudged fingerprints. Her parents must have used them to try and stop the bleeding until the nurse had come in to help.

Sara turned her head towards them when they entered and she let out a whimper, hands pulling at the bindings, and her body trembled in fear.

“Mommy, daddy?” she asked, her lip quivering as she was on the verge of crying.

“No, Sara. My name is Dean, I’m with the FBI, and my friend here is Castiel. We are here to help you.” Dean moved over to the side of the girls bed but did not touch her so he wouldn’t scare her. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Sara gave a nod. “Mommy was reading to me to help me sleep. Daddy was holding my hand. Then my eyes started to hurt. They felt hot and itchy. I tried to itch them but then mommy and daddy were holding me down and yelling. Then my eyes really, really hurt and then the nurse gave me some medicine.” her lip trembled again, the bandages around her head keeping her tears from sliding down her cheeks.

“Did you see hear or see anything, Sara?” Dean asked gently.

Again she thought for a moment. “Daddy said I shouldn’t talk about it. It would scare people.” her head turned and if she had eyes, Dean would have sworn she was looking right at Castiel. “But I will tell you because you are an angel and mommy says that angels protect us.”

Dean and Castiel exchanged surprised looks. Then Castiel smiled and knelt down next to her bed and gently put a hand on her hand. He gave it a squeeze and she smiled. She relaxed at his touch and her trembling stopped.

“How do you know that he is an angel?” Dean asked curiously. He couldn’t help but smile as the girl giggled.

“Because he has wings silly!” She gestured wildly at them and opened her arms wide to show how big they were. “They stretch this far!”

Castiel smiled fully and Dean wouldn’t admit that his heart melted at the sight. “You are a very special girl, Sara.” he turned to Dean and saw his questioning look but he just mouthed ‘later’ before turning back to the girl. “Will you please tell me what you saw? We are trying to find it so it doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

Saras smile left and she shifted closer to Castiel like she was looking for protection. Her voice was only a little more than a whisper. “He looked like my grandpa. He was wearing pjs and holding an umbrella open even though it can’t rain inside.” her voice got lower so that Dean could no longer hear her. “He smiled at me and he had really sharp teeth like a shark! I think he was a monster.” 

“It’s okay, you are safe now.” the angel said softly and put a hand on the girls head, gently ruffling her hair. “Thank you for your help. Now get some rest, you’ve had a big day.” he used some of his angel mojo to make sure she would sleep peacefully and without nightmares.

Dean and Castiel left the room and as soon as the door shut behind them, Dean was turning towards the angel and staring. Green eyes looked into blue and he saw amusement in them. 

“How’d she know you’re an angel?” Dean asked, voice low so none of the staff or police would overhear him.

Sam was only a few steps away and he moved closer so he could hear his brother.“What?” Sam asked, eyes wide as he too turned to face the other man.

“I have told you before that there are some humans who can see our true form. It is very, very rare but it does happen. When she lost her eyes, her other senses must have become more sensitive and that is what allowed her to see the true me.” Castiel wore a small smile, a bit happy that the girl was able to see him and that she trusted him instantly with no questions. With how things had been going lately for him, it was a relief. 

Dean frowned, “How could she see you without having eyes?”

“You can see with more than just your eyes, Dean. She saw me with her soul.” His smile grew a bit bigger. “You have seen me before too. You just don’t remember it.” Blue eyes stayed locked onto green ones for what felt like minutes. “You were only a soul when I pulled you from hell, and I was not in a vessel.” 

The trio fell silent, Dean and Castiel still staring at each other as if they were having a telepathic conversation, and Sam shuffling his feet suddenly feeling awkward to be standing there for that conversation. Even if the two ‘conversed’ with their eyes more and more often, he didn’t think he would ever get used to it.

Laughter echoed down the hall as two of the kids came running down back towards their rooms, their parents following behind them with forced smiles as they passed by the detectives and angel. One of the kids, a boy in Batman pajamas, bumped into Castiel and fell down. The angel quickly helped him back up with a smile and a comment on his pajamas. The boy beamed up at him before continuing past a few more doors before finding his room.

“What did you find out? Anything useful?” Sam asked, the bump from the boy having broken the silent conversation between his brother and the angel.

“Yeah, another description of what’s been attacking the kids.” Dean lead the way out of the hospital and back to his car out front. “Sara said that she saw an old man in pajamas holding an umbrella. Oh and that he had sharp teeth like a shark.” He leaned against the side of his car with a sigh. “It could still be almost anything.”

Sam frowned, just as lost as his brother was. “Okay, that’s...interesting. I’ll give Bobby a call and see if he knows anything and to give him the new information.” he ran a hand through his hair and loosened the tie around his neck. “This case is becoming more complicated the longer we are here.” he moved past Deans car to where his rental was parked a few spots away. “I’ll call you later.”

“I think we are dealing with some kind of spirit.” Castiel said to Dean as he moved around the Impala to get in after Sam drove off. “I could feel traces of it when I touched Saras arm. It did not feel angry or like it was seeking revenge.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Dean slid into his seat and turned to face Castiel. “It’s ripping eyes out of kids and you say it’s not angry? Sounds to me like it gets it’s jollies from causing pain. Like a demon.” he hit his steering wheel as the anger bubbled up again, then rubbed it as if he was sorry for doing so. “Sorry, Baby.” he said under his breath. “It still could be an angel. We already know that if a human sees your form their eyes burn out of their heads.

“No, I am positive it is a spirit. I just don’t know which one.” Castiels lips twitched as he watched Dean continue to treat his car like a living thing. “If it were an angel, then Saras parents would not have their eyes either since they were in the room with her when she was attacked. There is also no motivation or purpose for doing such a thing, especially to a child.”

Suddenly Deans stomach gave a loud growl and cut off his reply. Castiels eyes opened wide for a moment before he chuckled. The hunter laughed a bit and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“That’s right, you didn’t get to eat your lunch.” Castiel reached down and picked the bag up off the floor that had the take out from the diner in it and handed Dean his wrapped burger. “It’s still warm.”

“Awesome.” Dean snatched the burger and unwrapped it, then started tearing into it like a man who hadn’t eaten in days. He felt Castiels eyes on him like back in the diner, but he was too hungry to care.

Castiel pulled out a box that held the french fries and held it open for Dean. He took one for himself and tried it, then made a face. “Tastes like molecules.” He still licked the salt and grease off his fingers before wiping them on his jeans. He’d have to learn how to block out his extreme sense of taste if he wanted to eat human food again.

“Dude, you’re weird.” the hunter said around a mouthful of burger as he stuffed a couple of fries in with it. “Bacon double cheeseburgers and fries are the best food ever. Well, second and third best. First is-”

“Pie?” the angel said with a smirk and Dean nodded.

“Damn straight it’s pie!” Dean finished his burger and then started up the car. “Now let’s get back to the motel and see what Bobby has to say.”


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally find out what Dean and Sam are hunting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who have reviewed and are watching! Makes me more eager to post my chapters. This one is a bit short or else the next one would have been super long.

“Seriously?” Dean asked, one brow raised as he looked between Sam who was sitting at the table and the books spread out on the bed.

“We have dealt with stranger things before.” the younger Winchester said with a shrug of his shoulders.

The elder Winchester picked up one of the books with a picture and held it up to Sam as if he hadn’t seen it, poking his finger at the picture of the old man depicted in the story. “Seriously? The Sandman? He’s just a fairy tale!”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Just like fairies, djin and dragons are?”

“Exact- shut up.” Dean tossed the book back onto the bed, knocking some off the other side and to the floor, and continued to shake his head. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around it. “Seriously?”

“If you say that one more time, I’m going to hit you.”

“Seriously?” Dean grinned and took a step back as Sam launched himself up out of the wooden chair towards him. Dean backed away another step and tripped over some of the books that were on the floor and landed with a loud ‘oomph!’.

“It is highly possible, Dean.” Castiel watched in amusement as the boys wrestled for a moment on the floor. “The myths match up to what the children were saying and what happened. It makes the most sense.”

Dean shoved Sam off of him and rolled out of the way and to his feet before the bigger male could pin him again. He moved over to the bed not covered in books and sat down. The mattress barely dipped under his weight from how firm it was.

“Fine, let’s say it is the Sandman. How do we gank the bastard?”

“No idea. Bobby is still looking into it.” Sam sat back down at the small table with his computer and started clicking away. “I have not found any stories where it talks about the Sandman being killed. He’s just around for a short period of time and then he’s gone.” 

Castiel picked up one of the old books and began reading through it, eyes moving quickly over the text. “You can’t kill it.” he felt eyes on him and looked up to see both Winchesters staring at him. “The Sandman was created by sleeping humans. He is what brings dreams and nightmares to you, especially children. The only way to kill him would be to make it so that humans never slept.” he set the book he was holding aside and picked up another. He did not open it but ran his fingers over the worn leather cover enjoying the texture. “As I said before in the hospital, when I touched Sara I could feel traces of him left and that he did not feel angry or that he was doing this for revenge. There is a high chance that something is controlling him and he is doing it against his will.”

Sam nodded in agreement. “Most of the stories talk about the Sandman helping kids fall asleep and giving them good dreams. Only in a few stories has it been said that he is evil. He targets misbehaving children and steals their eyes. Fits with what’s happened.” he clicked through a few pages on his computer before he sat up a bit straighter. “Here we go. It says that the Sandman carries two umbrellas with him that he holds over the people he puts to sleep. One of them causes good dreams and the other one causes nightmares. There is no descriptions of what they look like or even how big they are.”

“Sara didn’t mention seeing two umbrellas.” Dean frowned. “Being a kid, she would have noticed right away and asked him about it.”

“That’s it, that’s how he’s being controlled.” Castiels eyes lit up a bit as realization hit him. “Someone has his other umbrella, leaving him with the one that causes nightmares. If he continues to use it, then maybe it gradually causes him to change? Only carrying nightmares around has to take a toll on you.”

“That would explain why the attacks keep happening. If this is something that happened often, we would hear about it all the time.” Sam said then groaned. “Now we just have to figure out who, or what, is controlling him and where they are hiding.” He got up from his chair and stretched his arms and rubbed at his eyes. “I need a break. I’ll be back in an hour.” he then left the motel for a walk, ignoring the look his brother shot him on the way out.

Castiel continued to look through the books on the bed until he’d finished them all, then stacked them neatly in a pile on the floor out of the way. He stretched his back when he stood up, his shirt rising enough to show off some of his stomach, and saw that Dean was watching him intently. When their eyes met, he did not look away. Instead, he moved over to sit on the bed that Castiel was standing next to and continued to look at him.

“You said that I have seen your true form before but I don’t remember it.” Castiel nodded and Dean finally broke eye contact, looking down at the cross that hung around the angels neck instead. It was small and silver and suited him.

Castiel nodded slowly, already knowing what Dean was going to ask him to do. He sat down on the hard bed with a soft sigh and waited for it to come. It was so quiet in the room that he could clearly hear the ticking of the clock across the room, and the sound of Deans heartbeat next to him. The hunters breathing had also picked up a bit when he’d sat down beside him. Neither spoke for a few minutes before Dean finally looked up and met his gaze.

“I want you to show me.” 

“Dean, you know I can’t do that. You’ll die.” the angel replied softly, turning a bit on the bed to face the other more.

The hunter hummed in thought. “You can read me my memories right? Then show them to me like a flashback?” the hopefulness in his voice was hard to miss.

Castiel hesitated before answering. “I can, but I don’t want to.” he said slowly and saw something flash in Deans eyes. Anger? Maybe disappointment. “Dean, if I send you back there, even if it’s not physically, you understand what will happen right? You were in hell. You’ll feel all the pain again. The suffering.” his own heart ached at the thought of the man before him going through all of that again.

“Please Cas,” Dean said softly, voice at a whisper, “I want to see you. Besides,” he gave a smile, “I’m not afraid to go back because I know you’ll be right there beside me. I won’t break.”

“Dean…” Castiel stared at Dean, his heart pounding in his chest, and he bit his bottom lip as he struggled with what to do. His head dropped slightly and he sighed. “Alright, I will show you what you want to see. You may regret asking.”

“No, I won’t.” he was confident it was the truth, but at the same time he could not ignore the way his heart started pounding in his chest. 

Castiel moved even closer to Dean and had the hunter turn to face him so their knees brushed. He placed a hand on both of Deans shoulders, one right where his mark used to be, and held him in place. Their eyes were locked onto each other and the angel squeezed his shoulders in comfort. He could hear the hunters heart pounding even faster now.

“Close your eyes.”

Dean did as he was told only for them to shoot open again when he felt skin press against his forehead. Castiel was touching their foreheads together, his eyes gently closed. 

A smirk spread across his lips but his eyes remained closed. “I said close your eyes, Dean.”

Dean shivered at the feel of Castiels hot breath against his lips and the heat where their foreheads were touching. He licked his lips before shutting his eyes again and this time kept them closed. His heart was pounding from nerves but also with excitement. He felt a warm heat spreading through his body, starting from where his and Castiels foreheads were touching, and it went right down to his toes. His head began to spin with dizziness and he let out a small sound. Castiels fingers tightened soothingly on his shoulders to let him know that everything was okay. 

Then everything went black.


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean goes to hell and his and Castiels relationship starts to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is my version of Dean in Hell. I figure that when he was not torturing people that he would have been kept locked up and not allowed to just wander around.

Dean yelled in pain. His body burned and he tried to get away from the heat only to realize that he was chained and could not move. His eyes cracked open to see the hooks in him that he knew would be there, along with the black emptiness all around him. He yelled in anger this time and struggled against the chains even though he knew it was pointless. He only succeeded in causing himself more pain.

He didn’t know how long he hung there suspended over the endless darkness. Could have been only minutes but it felt like hours, days, or even weeks. His skin was sticky with his own blood and he shivered like he was cold except he was burning up. He could hear the screams of other tormented souls all around him but he could not see anyone else. Occasionally the shadows would shift as a demon pass by, but he never clearly saw them.

Eventually a bright light appeared, chasing the shadows and demons away, and he had to close his eyes against it. Even with his eyes closed they burned from the intensity of the light, but he could not move his hands to cover his face. A moment later he was able to crack them open very slowly, and it was then that he saw the light. 

The light burned softly now and was warm and full of life. His body stopped shivering and the pain vanished. Soon he felt completely calm even though he was still chained up in Hell. His mouth moved to speak but no sound came out.

“Dean Winchester.” a voice spoke, rough and raspy but soothing at the same time. “You do not belong in this place. I have come to free you.”

As his eyes adjusted to the light fully, Dean could start to make out features inside of it. There was a face but he couldn’t make out the features aside from a pair of bright blue eyes. He could see most of a body and then wings. Large, beautiful, bright wings, at least three pair of them. They spread out of the body like rays of light and kept the shadows and demons at bay. 

Tendrils of that light reached out to him and started wrapping around his body and attacked the chains. He looked down when he heard one snap and watched as they slowly fell away from him. With every chain that fell away, the lighter he felt. He could feel heat on his shoulder and turned to see a hand gripping him tightly. It wasn’t painful, but rather soothing and he found himself leaning into the touch.

The being made of light began chanting something in an unknown language and the rest of the chains all snapped at once and the hooks disappeared from his body. He found himself instinctively moving even closer to the light and wrapping his arms around it. The light wrapped around him like a cocoon and he felt himself being lifted, raised out of the pits of Hell. He could see the shadows and demons chasing them but they were too far away to catch them. 

He turned his face into the beings neck and let out a little sigh as he felt a comforting hand in his hair.

“It is alright, Dean Winchester. You have been saved.”  
…..

“Dean, are you okay?” Castiel asked, his voice soft as he waited for the hunter to come out of the dream. He was cupping the others cheeks now, using his thumbs to wipe away some tears that had escaped his eyes. He could hear the hunters heartbeat had calmed back down to normal again and all the tension had left his body.

Dean pulled away from him with a groan of pain and grabbed his shoulder. He held still for a few minutes until he stopped trembling. Slowly he opened his eyes when his head stopped spinning and he found Castiels face inches from his own, eyes filled with concern.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” he gave the angel a shaky smile. “I just wasn’t expecting it to be so intense.” he took a couple of deep breaths before he could breathe normally again. His hand still gripped his shoulder and he frowned. “I can still feel it. Is that normal?”

Castiel frowned as he looked to where Dean held his shoulder, exactly where the angels mark had been. “Take off your shirt.” The hunter gave him an odd look before doing as he was told. Blue eyes went wide as he saw the red skin. “That should not be possible.”

“Shit!” Deans own eyes went wide as he saw Castiels handprint once again marking his skin. He touched the raised flesh and shivered at how sensitive it was. 

Then Castiel was reaching out and touching it and the hunter had to bite his lip to keep another noise from slipping out. The angel grabbed Deans arm and pulled him closer, then smirked. Seeing his mark on Dean again made him happy. To him, it was proof of the bond that they shared and he wanted everyone to see it. When he lay his hand over the mark fully, Dean let out a choked moan, then looked away, cheeks flushed.

“Do you regret it, Dean?” Castiel asked, leaning close enough to the other that his breath ghosted over his face.

Dean gave a shake of his head, “No. You’re beautiful, Cas.” Normally he would not say such a thing to a man, but Castiel wasn’t exactly a man and no other word suited what he had seen. “It was worth it. Thank you.”

Castiels fingers continued to trail across his handprint, watching in fascination as Dean shivered and his breath kept getting caught in his throat only to come out in a pleased sigh. He was surprised that the hunter had not pulled away from him yet, only sat there while he was touched. 

Unable to pass up the opportunity, Castiel leaned forward and brushed his lips across the mark. At the same time, his Grace reached out to wrap around Dean like when he’d pulled him from Hell, pulling another choked moan from him. When Castiel looked up at him, his eyes locked onto green ones filled with lust and some confusion. He leaned up and gently brushed his lips acrossed Deans and the hunter shivered.

“Cas.” Deans voice came out in a whisper and he leaned forward to press their lips together. This time it was the angel letting out a soft moan as the pressure increased and Deans fingers slid into his hair. 

Before the kiss could go further, the door to the room opened and Sam came in. Dean was instantly on his feet and a few steps away before his brother had fully entered the room. His back was to the door as he got himself under control while Castiel still sat on the bed looking confused. When their eyes met, Dean cleared his throat and turned to face his brother.

“Hey, I got us some coffee.” Sam stopped just inside the room, giving his brother an odd look. “Why is your shirt off?” his eyes then spotted the handprint and they went wide. “What the hell? Did I miss something?”

“No.” Dean basically snapped and grabbed his shirt from the bed and pulled it back on, then pulled on his over shirt. His cheeks were still burning and he refused to meet his brothers eyes. 

Sam raised a brow and looked between his brother and Castiel who was now looking a bit awkward. He gave Dean his coffee and then one to Castiel before he took his seat back at the table behind his computer. When he looked to Castiel hoping the other would explain, he looked away and drank his coffee. 

“Anyway, Bobby called me while I was out. He basically said the same thing Cas did about not being able to kill the Sandman.” as Sam spoke, he watched the other two males and how they were avoiding looking at each other. Or Dean was avoiding looking at Castiel. Castiel was staring at Dean but that was normal. “He said there has been some unusual activity going on today just outside of town that we should check out. He thinks it could be a demon nest of some kind.”

Dean had finally collected himself and was acting like nothing had happened. He grabbed his keys and moved towards the door. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Castiels true form, I know in the stories it is said that Seraph have four heads, three of which are animal heads. I decided to leave them off and hope that it doesn't bother people too much.


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel loves burgers. And later gets jealous...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter! I hope you enjoy it. Things are starting to heat up.

“That was a waste of time.” Dean grumbled as he put his and Sams weapons into the trunk of the Impala. He then started cleaning the blood off of his jacket.

The trio had investigated the site the nest was supposedly at only to find a single Djin there. The Djin had then lead them to a Skinwalker who also had no idea what was going on at the hospital. After making work of those two demons, it was late afternoon and the elder Winchester was in an especially cranky mood. When they got back into town, his mood only got worse.

Dean parked the Impala in front of some stores with the intention of hunting down some food. He was starving and it was made worse by his bad mood. The last thing he needed as for an annoying CNA to find him.

“Hey Dean!” a male voice called out.

Dean froze mid-stride and his eyes shut, a groan slipping out as he slowly turned to face the speaker. “Richard, right?”

The blond beamed at him. “I’m so happy that you remembered.” he approached the hunter and got right up in his personal space like before and gave him a wink. “I don’t work today and it looks like you have off also. How about we go get that drink now?”

“We are actually working.” It was Castiel who spoke, surprising everyone there, even himself. His eyes narrowed on the blond, not liking how close he was to Dean. He moved closer to the pair and the blonde blinked at him for a moment before smiling. 

“So are you his work partner?” Richard asked and moved even closer to Dean, his smile only getting bigger as he saw the glare the blue eyed man was sending him. He recognized jealousy when he saw it and he loved messing with people. “Please say you’ll have at least one drink with me before you go?” he asked, looking up at Dean as he put a hand on the taller mans shoulder, the same one with Castiels mark, but he wouldn’t have known that.

The angel became furious at that, but before he could move to do something about it, Dean had placed both his hands on Richards arms and pushed him away firmly but not hard enough to knock him over.

“I am not interested in having drinks with you, Richard. I am working an important job right now, as you know. I don’t have time to slack off.” Deans voice left no room for argument and before the blonde could respond, he had turned and walked away.

Richard stared after him for a moment before his eyes filled with anger at being rejected. He turned on his heel and stormed away in the opposite direction, muttering under his breath, after shooting Castiel a withering look for interfering. 

“Well, that was interesting.” Sam said from where he leaned against the Impala, watching Richard storm off and Dean stop further down the sidewalk, hands in his pockets and cursing. “So, are we still going to the restaurant to get some food or should we go back to the motel and order in?”

“It appears that Dean has chosen for us. He just went into that one there.” Castiel pointed to a placed called ‘Bubbas Burgers’ that Dean had just entered. He started to follow but Sam stopped him.

“Are you going to tell me what was going on earlier, Cas? I know it wasn’t nothing.” Sam held the angels gaze and was surprised when the shorter man looked away first, shuffling his feet nervously. “Cas?”

Castiel moved a few steps closer to Sam so he didn’t have to speak so loud, then looked around to make sure no one else was within hearing distance. “Dean asked me to show him my true form. I cannot do it here without killing him, but I could show him his memories from when I saved him. That is what I did.”

The taller man nodded after a moment but was frowning, “So how did that mark get back on his arm if he was only seeing his memories?”

“I honestly don’t know, Sam. It is nothing to be concerned about, so don’t worry.” They walked down the sidewalk to the restaurant Dean had gone into, Castiel mostly silent until Sam asked about the kiss. His blue eyes widened slightly before they softened again with a sigh. “Sorry, I don’t know about that either. It just...happened. I didn’t even realize that I had moved.”

Sam actually chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Cas. With the way the two of you stare at each other, I’m really not surprised. You already know what you’re getting into with him, and I know I don’t have to give you ‘the talk’.” he didn’t have to say it, but his unsaid words were clear; Don’t hurt him.

“I understand.” Castiel said and reached for the door handle and held the door open for his friend. “I would rather go back to Purgatory than hurt him.” he said softly, but Sam heard and gave him a pat on the back as he went by.

“Guys, back here!” Dean called and waved them over to the booth he found for them, a large soda already in front of him. “What took you so long?”

Castiel said nothing as he slid into the seat across from Dean and Sam sat beside his brother.

“We were just making sure that guy wasn’t going to follow after you. He is really determined to get into your pants.” Sam said with a laugh and continued to do so when Dean grumbled.

“That guy is way too handsy. I don’t see how he is holding his job if he gropes people right in the hospital.”

At Castiels confused look, Sam added, “He works on the floor where the kids were attacked. He literally cornered Dean yesterday in the hall.”

“Dude, he was trying to friggen jump me in the hall! If Betty had not seen him, then I would have had to put him on the floor. Some people just don’t understand personal space.” he saw Castiel flinch at the words and he looked away uncomfortably. Dean drank some of his soda as an awkward silence fell over them.

“Anyway,” Sam said and cleared his throat, “After we eat I am going to go back to the hospital and check in. It’s been quiet today so far, but that doesn’t mean whatever is attacking the kids is gone.”

Twenty minutes later and they all had their food. Dean and Castiel had burgers while Sam had got his usual salad. Dean commented that rabbit food had no place in a burger joint, or anywhere else for that matter, before he was distracted by his burger. Technically, Castiel did not need to eat but he had grown fond of doing so. He had figured out how to turn down his sense of taste so that it was more than molecules, especially when he loved burgers as much as Dean did. He made a sound of appreciation as he bit into it, but nowhere near as pornographic sounding as Deans always did.

Dean was almost suspiciously quiet this time eating and Castiel wondered if it had anything to do with how he’d stared yesterday while the hunter ate. Their eyes locked for a long moment before Castiel smiled and held up his own burger and took another bite of it. Then he felt something hit his arm and looked down to see that when he’d bitten his burger, barbeque sauce had squirted out the bottom and down his arm. He stared at it for a moment before bringing his arm up and licking the sauce off, going from almost the bend of his elbow all the way to his wrist.

Dean had stopped eating and was staring at him, while Sam had got up from the table and made a hasty retreat. He had finished his food and did not need to stick around. The hunter continued to watch with wide green eyes as Castiels tongue worked to clean the remainder of the barbeque sauce from his fingers. He stopped when he felt eyes on him and felt his cheeks heat at the look Dean was giving him.

Dean had only seen Castiels cheeks color a few times, and even then it was only slightly. This time it was a full on blush and he found it adorable. Apparently his body also liked the show Castiel was putting on unaware and Dean shifted in his seat a bit, half hard just from the other licking sauce off his arm and fingers.

“Good, huh?” Dean said, unsure of what else to say as he was also embarrassed. He went back to eating after Castiel did the same and nodded. 

They finished their lunch in silence and Dean only groaned again when he was told they were out of pie for desserts, but would he like cake? Castiel didn’t see much of a difference since they were both sweet, but the hunter looked at him like he was crazy. Dean then went on a rant about how different the two desserts were and how nothing was as good as pie. When Castiel suggested putting cake into a pie crust, Dean had called him a blasphemer and paid for their food, shooting the angel looks as the other looked at him in confusion. Finally, Dean broke into laughter as they left the restaurant.

“One of these days I need to take you out just so you can try a bunch of different foods, especially different pies!” Dean had put a hand on Castiels shoulder as they went out the door and he gave it a squeeze. “You may as well do something enjoyable here while you are taking a break from your angel stuff.”

“I enjoy spending time with you, Dean.” Castiel said in complete serious, his head tilting to the side a bit. He turned to face the hunter so he could look up at him, putting them close together since Dean was still holding his shoulder. “What we do already is enough as long as I can be by your side.”

Deans lips moved wordlessly, unsure of what to say to that. He felt his cheeks heat a bit and he could not stop his gaze from dropping to Castiels mouth. His eyes then moved down his neck and to his chest, the shirt he wore being just tight enough that Dean could make out his muscles underneath. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and he wondered for a moment if the angel could hear it.

“Dean? Did I say something wrong?”

Dean finally let go of Castiel and moved away, heading for his car a few parking spots away. “Nope.” he laughed and slid into the drivers seat. He looked out at Castiel who still stood where he was, frowning. “You coming, Cas?”

Castiel nodded and quickly joined the hunter in the car. As they drove off, he continued to watch the hunter with a slight frown on his face. His thoughts were a jumbled mess trying to understand what was going on between them, if anything. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

Every now and then Dean would look at him before quickly looking away, his tongue darting out to lick his lips which would immediately cause the angels attention to drop to the hunters mouth. Finally, Castiel tore his gaze away from Dean to look out the windows, trying to figure out where they were heading.

“Since Sam is already at the hospital, we’re going to head to the local college. There is a professor there that may be able to help us with finding out more about the Sandman.” 

It was about an hours drive to the college from where they were and the time passed in a comfortable silence. Dean was still surprised that Castiel hadn’t flown off yet, but he knew the angel couldn’t stay around for too long. He would just enjoy it until the angel had to go. When they pulled up in front of one of the buildings, Dean got out and stretched, then watched as Castiel did the same.

“Let me do the talking, Cas. No offence, but you are too serious and blunt and tend to freak people out when you ask weird questions.” Dean said with a grin as they moved to the doors.

“Understood.” he said with a nod, but frowned. “It would be faster if I just looked into her mind to see what she knows. She also would not be able to lie.”

“Yeah, but it’s better if people like her didn’t know that monsters and things like you didn’t exist.” Dean said as he yanked open the door and entered, pausing when he realized Castiel wasn’t following. “Cas?”

“Things like me...I can see how knowing that angels exist could cause trouble. But you make it sound like I’m as much of a monster as what you are hunting.”

Dean replayed what he had said and turned to face the angel, “Shit Cas, you know I didn’t mean it like that. I’m more of a monster than you are.”

“Dean, you’re not-”

“Come on, we’re wasting time.” Dean turned back around and headed off into the building before Castiel could finish speaking. The hunter may not run from demons, but he ran from emotional things.

The building was mostly empty as it was after class hours, though a few students wandered the halls talking to each other, comparing notes, or studying in the library in the center of the building. The office they wanted was on the top floor and was occupied by Dr. Rose Gillis, English and mythology teacher. 

The office was impressive. Bookshelves lined the walls, every space covered and causing the shelves to bow under their weight. There were some maps pinned up around the room as well as piles of them in containers off to the side. A lounge chair sat of to the side with a lamp under it telling them that the owner often spent a lot of time in this room reading. The smell of old books caused Deans nose to twitch and he couldn’t help but think of how much Sam would love to be here. He was such a nerd.

The woman who sat behind a large mahogany desk had long blond hair, brown eyes and a curvy figure. Her legs were long and toned, probably a runner, and a smile that lit up the room. A pair of thin, wire frame glasses sat on her nose but she slid them up when they entered the room. Her red blouse was unbuttoned enough to give a peak of breasts and the black skirt was tight and hit just above her knees. Dean had a feeling there were a lot of males in her classes just so they could see her as much as possible. He knew he’d be staring were he in her class.

“Are you going to come in and sit or just stand there staring?” Her voice was smooth and pleasant, surprising him a bit. He would have thought her voice to be higher to go with her appearance. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get right to the topic. I prefer not to dance around and make small talk when I have other things I need to get finished.”

“Yeah, thank you for seeing us on such short notice, Dr. Gillis.” Dean said as he sat down in one of the chairs at her desk, Castiel taking the second seat. “I was told that you were the one to go to for anything mythology related. I was hoping that you could tell us what you know about the Sandman? I mean, other than what we hear in the bedtime stories.”

Her brown eyes looked him over before they moved on to examine Castiel. Her eyes lingered a bit longer on him before she turned back to Dean, a single eyebrow raised in question. She got up from her chair and moved over to one of the many bookshelves that lined her walls, then pulled a large tome off her shelf and started flipping through it. With how gently she was turning the pages, it was obvious to tell how old the book was.

“Other than the bedtime stories, there is not much on Sandman.” she carried the book back over to the desk where she set it down open between the men. “There have been theories that there is a dark side to him, or maybe a brother, that is evil. He goes after the naughty children and rips their eyes out to bring back to his nest to feed to his own children on the moon.” 

“What, does he make jelly out of the eyes or something?” At Castiels confused look and the doctors frown he added, “Nevermind.” Dean leaned in to take a closer look at the book and flipped to the next page. The picture was of a monster tearing someone apart and eating him. “Whoa, what’s this one?”

Dr. Gillis leaned closer to the book, putting a hand on Deans shoulder to brace herself as she leaned over him. “There is another tale that says the Sandman puts his victims to sleep before he eats him. In the descriptions he sounds more skeletal and has sharp teeth whereas in the bedtime stories he is always described as an old man.”

Dean turned his head slightly to look at her and found her looking back at him. While she had been speaking, she had turned just enough to press one of her breasts into his arm and her fingers pressed into his skin. She smiled slowly as they held each others gaze and he got her silent offer. While she was normally his type and he wouldn’t hesitate to go after her, for some reason he was not feeling the urge to. His body wasn’t even reacting to her.

“Why would someone in charge of making people fall asleep and bring them dreams want to kill them?” This time Castiel cut in and his blue eyes were locked on the woman. He seemed a bit angry. “Do these stories mention anything about trapping or stopping him?”

Dr. Gillis frowned as she moved away from Dean, as if she suddenly remembered they were not alone in the room. She moved to stand beside the desk and leaned against the edge, arms crossing over her chest which only pushed her bust up more. Enough buttons were undone on her blouse to make it hard to looks elsewhere.

“Nothing that I’ve read or heard about say anything about stopping or trapping him. Considering how hard it was just to find these other versions of the stories, I think that if the Sandman were real, that it was not something that happened often.” When she turned her attention from Dean to Castiel, she startled. It felt like his blue eyes were piercing right into her soul and it made her uneasy. Wanting to get away from it, she moved around to her side of the desk to sit back down in her chair. She saw him smirk but it was so quick she thought she imagined it. “Was there anything else I could do for you?”

“No, if that is all you know, then we are done here.” Castiel again surprised Dean by speaking out, then he was standing and moving behind Dean. “Let’s go.”  
As Castiel waited for Dean to hurry up and stand, his eyes did not leave the doctors. While she had retreated for the moment, he knew that she was very interested in Dean, he couldn’t blame her, but he was not going to let her get her claws into him. He knew he was acting like a jealous lover, but he could not stop himself.

Dean gave the woman an embarrassed smile as he got up from his seat. “You’ve told us more than what we already knew, so it was a help.” he could feel the air practically crackling with energy as Castiel stood behind him. He looked over his shoulder at the angel but the other man did not notice, he was too focused on trying to kill the doctor with his gaze alone.

“Well, if you decide you want to talk again, you know where to find me.” she replied calmly as if she were not being intimidated by an angel. “It doesn’t even have to be work related.” her words were suggestive and Castiel had to give her credit for being so bold and not backing down. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Castiel grabbed Deans arm and practically dragged him down the hall. As he did so, he looked over his shoulder to see the woman laughing a bit. He started to wonder if she had just been teasing him, but then shook his head. He’d seen the interest in her eyes and the way she’d pressed herself to Deans side to point out things in the book.

When they made it outside, Dean yanked his arm away and glared at him.

“Dude, what the hell was that about?” 

Castiel looked at the hunter for a moment before he turned away with a shrug. “She told us what she knew and there was no further reason to be there. We need to figure this out, so why waste anymore time with her? If you stayed longer to talk, she would have asked you to get drinks. Then you would have wasted even more time.”

Dean just looked at him. Then really looked at him before a slow smirk appeared. “Is that what all the glaring in there was about? You were afraid I’d ditch you and go out with her?” he felt like his chest was going to burst at the thought of Castiel trying to scare away anyone interested in him. “Were you jealous of her, Cas?”

Castiel moved to the car and stood outside the passenger door. “Jealousy had nothing to do with it. We are working on an important job. Any unnecessary delays could mean more attacks. I do not wish for more children to be hurt.”

Dean narrowed his eyes a bit and walked over to stand in front of Castiel, putting him between himself and the car. “Oh really? So if I said that I needed a break from the job for a bit and went back in there, you wouldn’t be upset?”

“If you really want to take a break from this job, then that is your choice. More attacks could happen, but it is none of my business who you have sex with.” Castiel shot a glare up at the doctors window as if he could see her. A curtain moved, a sign that she had, in fact, been watching them. When his eyes turned back to Dean, they were angry. “Go ahead if you want to so badly.”

Dean frowned as he looked down at Castiel. “Even if she had offered, I would have turned her down.” he saw hope flash in the blue eyes and he couldn’t help but smirk a bit. “You are right that this job is too important to take a break from. I’m not heartless you know.”

Castiel stared up at him with wide eyes, unbelieving what he was hearing. “I have known you for years and I have never seen you walk away from a willing women, even if you were on the job. Had I not been there, she probably would have climbed right into your lap.” This said with a growl. His head tilted and he blinked a few time. “I am glad to hear that you are making an exception since children are involved.”

That was not the real reason he would have turned down the offer, but Dean did not bother to correct him. “Right, now that we have that cleared up, we should probably get going.”

As Dean started to turn away, Castiel grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him up against the car. Before Dean could get so much as a word out, the angel was kissing him. Deans whole body went rigid before he slowly relaxed, sighing into the other mans mouth, deepening the kiss. Their tongues clashed in a battle for dominance and eventually Dean gave in with a moan. Castiels tongue left no spot of his hunters mouth unexplored and while he kissed him, one of his hands held Deans pinned to the car, while the other was buried in his hair to keep him from moving away. Dean couldn’t stop himself from rocking his hips against the leg between his own, a soft whimper escaping his throat while his free hand curled into Castiels shirt.

His brain had short circuited and he was moving on instincts now. Everything around him vanished and the only thing that registered was Castiel pressed against him and where their mouths were connected. A tremble ran through his body as he continued to be dominated by the angel and not a single cell of him wanted to object to that.

When the kiss finally broke, Dean slowly opened his eyes and stared down at Castiel, feeling a bit dizzy and panting. He was half hard just from that kiss, that amazing, mind blowing kiss, and because of the jeans Castiel wore, he knew the other was in the same state. The angel had not moved away even a centimeter.  
“Cas?” his breath came out in a whisper and his tongue came out to run across his lower lip.

At the sound of a door closing, Deans eyes snapped over to the building and he saw Dr. Gillis standing there. She was looking at them with a raised brow and a smirk and Castiel was glaring at her again. Dean felt his face go red at being caught and he tried to wiggle away from Castiel but the man held him firm against the car with his body.

She raised her hands in surrender before making her way to her car and leaving. Once gone, Castiel let up on Dean and took a half of a step backwards. His own breathing was uneven and he had not expected his body to react the way it had. He also had not planned on kissing him quite like that, but when Dean melted against him, he couldn’t hold back. When he looked up at the hunter, he was smirking.

“I just wanted to make sure that she knew you were not interested. She has been watching us since we came outside.” Castiel took another step away from Dean and then looked at him like he was waiting for something. “Dean, I cannot get in unless you move.”

The hunter just stood there, leaning against the car, while he tried to process what had just happened. His heart was still beating at the rate of a rock song and his lower body was waiting for things to continue. He took a few deep breaths and forced himself to calm down, something that was hard when the angel was still so close. Finally, he moved away but kept his eyes locked on the shorter male as he got into the driver side and Castiel got into the passenger seat.

“You didn’t need to do that. I told you that I would have told her no if she had asked.” he muttered, his face still hot from embarrassment. He avoided looking at the other while he dug his keys out of his pocket and started up the car.

“I thought that would be the best way to keep her from pursuing you.” the angel said then frowned. “Was it unpleasant? With the way you reacted, I thought you were enjoying it, but if I was wrong, then I am sorry.”

Unpleasant? Was he seriously that dense? If they had not been interrupted, he had no doubt that one of them would have been bent over the hood of his car. Dean groaned and let his head fall forward to hit the steering wheel. 

“Cas, you’re killing me here.” He held up his hand to keep the other from saying more, instead turning his attention to the road. “Let’s just get back to the motel and see if we missed anything.”


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to get messy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter!

The rest of that night had gone by without any further incidents happening at the hospital. They knew better than to think the Sandman had moved on or let, so they were still on edge. Castiel had surprised both Dean and Sam by showing up at the door to the motel in the morning holding bags of steaming hot food and coffee for breakfast. Sam kept shooting Dean questioning looks but his brother would just shrug or look away.

Today Castiel had shown up wearing a pair of tan khakis and a white button up shirt, still sporting the red converse sneakers, and the same cross he’d wore the day before. He smiled when he saw Dean checking him out again, happy that the hunter approved. He was starting to get used to the more casual clothes and had even undone the top few buttons on his shirt and later rolled up his sleeves. It was warm out so he could always use that as an excuse if he was asked about it. Even if he didn’t feel the heat or cold much, it was nice pretending to be more human. It had been scary when he was human, but he actually missed the feelings and other things he never noticed while being an angel.

Dean was currently sitting in the chair at the small table with his feet up on the table while he munched on the donuts Castiel had brought him. Sam had gone out for a jog leaving the hunter and angel alone in the motel room. The silence was comfortable and neither felt the need to talk. Dean was busy eating anyway and Castiel was reading through the books they had to pass the time, his eyes darting over to watch the hunter while he ate every now and again. He was trying hard not to stare so much but was finding it difficult to stop when he kept catching the hunter watching him.

Neither men had brought up the intense kiss that had happened the night before. Castiel knew better than to question Dean when it came to emotions, and Dean himself didn’t even know what he was feeling about the whole thing. He still loved women but he couldn’t deny what was going on with him and the angel. He decided he would not push it but he would not push Castiel away should the angel put the moves on him again.

Deans phone vibrated in his pocket so he pulled it out so see who had sent him a message. He frowned when he saw that it was from Charlie.

C: ‘Hey Romeo, I heard you finally made a move. About damn time!’ A kissy face emote followed the text causing him to roll his eyes.

He had no idea what she was talking about, especially when they had not talked in awhile. He tried to remember who he had been messing around with the last time he had talked with the redhead, but came up blank. Then his eyes were looking over to Castiel and he frowned. How would she know about what happened between them? And then there was the fact that Castiel had initiated the kiss last night and the day before.

D: ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ he messaged back and received a reply almost instantly.

C: ‘Cas came over last night wanting me to help him with something. Research.’ a winking emote followed.

Dean stared at his phone screen then looked over to where Castiel now lounged on his bed reading a book. The angel then looked over at him as if he knew he were being talked about. Even though he was laying down, Dean could still see him tilt his head in question.

D: ‘Nothing is going on, Charlie.’

C: ‘Nothing...yet! But when it does, I want to hear all the juicy details!’

“Is something wrong? You are making faces at your phone.” Castiel asked as he set the book aside and sat up on the bed. “Is it Sam?”

Dean quickly shoved his phone back into his pocket and stuffed his mouth with the rest of his donut so he wouldn’t have to answer right away. He wasn’t sure if he could trust his voice just yet. His mind had started to wander to what kind of research Castiel had gone to her for, then realized there was only one thing it could be with how she had been talking.

“No, not Sam.” he said after swallowing. “Uh, just Bobby saying that he is still researching.”

Castiel got up from the bed and walked over to stand right in front of Dean before leaning down towards him. His hand came up and his thumb brushed across the hunters lower lip to the corner of his mouth, then stuck his thumb into his own mouth to suck of the powder. Dean stared up at him with wide eyes and was sputtering, not sure about what do. His eyes were locked onto Castiels mouth as he continued to suck the powder off his thumb.

Dean wasn’t sure whether he was happy or pissed that his brother returned at that moment.

“Hey, did I miss anything?” Sam asked as he came in, a towel around his neck as sweat dripped down his face and neck. He raised a brow at the odd look on his brothers face and looked between him and Castiel. The angel was at the bed holding one of the books they had, smirking. “Alright, I’m going to take a shower.” he said after his brother shook his head about not having missed anything. 

When Dean was finally able to close his mouth, he shot the angel an annoyed look, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Did what, Dean?” Castiel replied as he dropped the book on the bed and again moved over to stand beside Dean. “I was just trying to help.” his eyes moved over the hunters face, his eyes full of heat, and he leaned down and captured his lips in a quick kiss. “You missed some.” his voice was husky against Deans lips. When Dean leaned up to reconnect their lips, the angel moved away. “I’ll wait for you in the car.”

Once again Dean was sitting in the chair wondering just what the hell had happened. He brought a hand up to his mouth and made a sound in his throat, still able to taste Castiel there. 

The bathroom door opened and Sam came out half dressed and rubbing a towel in his hair to finish drying off. He saw his brother looking flushed and out of sorts and he decided he did not want to know what had happened while he was in the shower. Once he was fully dressed, he and Dean got into the car where Castiel was waiting in the back seat. When Dean looked at him in the rearview mirror, the angel gave him a wink, and he quickly turned his attention back to the road.

When they pulled up to the hospital it was to find more police cars out front with their lights flashing. They were no longer letting anyone but staff into the building and groups of people were yelling to be let in. Most likely the parents and other family members to the children in the hospital.

“I am sorry, but for your own safety we cannot let you inside.” One of the officers was saying, trying to calm down the crowd. “I know you all want to go inside and be with your children, but please understand. As soon as we get things sorted out and under control, you will be allowed back inside.”

When the officer saw Dean and Sam, he waved them over and let them around the barrier.

“It’s a good thing you two showed up. It’s a mess in there.” he spoke quietly so the civilians would not hear him. “There was another attack, but it was not a child this time...and it was a lot worse. The officers inside can explain everything to you. Good luck.”

“Alright. He’s with us.” Dean said and signaled Castiel so he could get around the barrier. The officer let the angel through and the trio went inside. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

When they got inside, the cops were crawling everywhere, searching the place for the attacker. The nurses and other staff were trying to continue to do their jobs, but it was obvious that everyone was on edge and afraid. All of the doors to the patient rooms were shut to keep the kids inside and to prevent them from seeing or hearing about what was going on. The police had even put up gates at the ends of the halls to prevent the kids from getting out in case they snuck out of their rooms. It was extreme but necessary until they caught the killer.

“This is going to make our job a lot harder.” Sam said with a sigh. “It must be pretty bad if there are this many cops in here.” The sound of a dog barking somewhere had him shaking his head. “And dogs too. Great.”

Nurse Betty saw them enter and she hurried over to them, a desperate look on her face. “Thank God you two are here. I was just about to call you.” She gave Castiel a nod to acknowledge him. “If you will follow me, I’ll take you to where it happened.”

“What exactly did happen?” Sam asked as they followed her down the hall to the elevators.

The nurse was silent and looked like she was fighting back tears. “I don’t know.”

Betty lead them past the patient rooms and to a room behind the nurses desk that was the break room. A police officer stood outside of the taped off room and gave them a look over when they showed up. After Dean and Sam showed him their badges, he moved past to allow them in. Betty stayed out in the hall.

“Brace yourselves, boys. It ain’t pretty in there.”

The room was coated from floor to ceiling in blood and chunks of flesh. There were smudged handprints on the floor followed by streaks from the victim trying to get away. There were also a few other handprints from a very skinny, clawed hand. In the center of the room on the floor was a body covered with a blood soaked sheet. 

Castiel looked between the two boys before moving over to the body and gently lifting the sheet. The body was female and torn to shreds. Her throat and chest were torn right open and her insides were falling out, some covered with obvious bit marks, and some were missing. One of her legs was gone right up to her hip and the other looked like it had been in the middle of being chewed on. Both arms were gone along with half of her face and her eyes and most of her brain.

Dean actually turned away to gag and Sam looked no better. Castiel quickly dropped the sheet back down and stepped away. He had been in many battles and had seen many victims of monsters, but this body even had his stomach twisting. It was made worse knowing that the poor woman was eaten alive.

“Dr. Gillis mentioned that there were a few stories where the Sandman eats his victims. I think it is safe to say we are definitely dealing with the Sandman.”

Dean finally turned back around and stared down at the bloody sheet, his stomach still threatening to revolt. “I didn’t think it would be like this. This is worse than ghouls!”

“It is also breaking pattern. This is a woman, not a child.” Sam added and started moving around the room, examining the handprints. “Looking at the mess, there was no way she was sleeping when he attacked her.”

“Which means he could attack anyone now. Awesome.” Dean said angrily and looked to Castiel. “We can’t kill it and don’t know how to trap it. Do you have any angel mojo that could work on it, Cas?”

Castiel squatted down next to the body, gently putting his hand on the womans forehead that was still there, and shut his eyes. A soft glow came from his hand for a moment before he opened his eyes, brows furrowing in his usual frown.

“She did not see her attacker. She was eating her lunch with a man when she heard a voice, then she started screaming.” he slowly stood up and continued to look down at her, feeling sorrow at the pain she must have suffered while she was eaten alive. Castiels eyes shut again as if he felt the pain, and when they opened, his blue eyes were filled with sadness. “I don’t know if I can do anything, but I won’t know until I try.”

“We can’t do anything until we find the damn thing. I think we’re going to be sleeping here tonight. It’s the only way to try and lure the bastard out.” Dean nearly growled with the anger he was feeling, leaving the room so he would not have to look at the dead woman anymore.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Sam said to Castiel who nodded in agreement, both men following Dean out of the room.

“But it is our only option at this point. I do not require sleep so I will be watching over both of you. I will keep you safe.” 

Betty was waiting for them at the nurses station a few feet away, slowly rising to her feet when she saw them coming out, her eyes still puffy and red from crying. Castiel put a gentle hand on her shoulder and used a tiny bit of his mojo to help calm her down some.

“I suppose you are going to want to speak to him next.” Betty said, nodding her head towards the windows to where a man sat huddled under a blanket. “He was in the room when Karen was attacked. He is still pretty shaken up about it, so I don’t know how much you will be able to get out of him.”

“Understood. We won’t push him into talking yet if he’s not ready.” Sam said and gave Betty a small smile.

When the three of them approached the man, Dean stopped and cursed inwardly when he realized who it was that was sitting there. It was Richard. When the man raised his head to look at him, his face was splattered with blood and his eyes were hollow. When he realized it was Dean standing in front of him, he gave a bit of a smile.

“So now you want to talk to me? If I knew that getting covered in blood would get your attention, I’d have done it sooner.” Richards words held no warmth, like he was speaking them out of habit only. “You going to buy me a drink now?”

Sam moved past his brother and looked him over. “Richard, right?” the other nodded. “Can you tell us what happened in there? What did you see?”

Richard laughed. “I didn’t see anything.” his hands came out from under the blanket and they were stained red with blood. “I couldn’t even feel anything.” his hands trembled as he pulled them back under the blanket. “We were in there on our lunch break gossiping and talking about our hook ups,” his eyes slid to Dean. “and then she said she heard something. A voice? I couldn’t hear anything though. Next thing I knew, she was sliding out of her chair and onto the floor, passed out asleep. Then she started screaming.” 

Dean and Sam exchanged looks and Castiel nodded, confirming that it matched with what he’d seen so far.

“I tried to wake her up but she wouldn’t. Her screams only got louder, and then her skin started ripping open like something was tearing her apart. I tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too much, too fast. Chunks of her started vanishing and blood was flying everywhere.” a sob cut off his words and he had to stop for a moment. “That’s when I ran.”

Castiel put a hand on Deans arm and pulled him away from Richard a bit so they could talk privately. “Dean, that man is telling the truth, but he’s hiding something.” His blue eyes locked onto the now crying man by the window. “I am getting strong feelings of guilt from him and I keep seeing flashes of some kind of altar in his mind.” his voice dropped even lower, causing Dean to have to lean closer to hear him. “I think that man is a witch.”

Dean cursed. “Great, my favorite.” he waved Sam over and repeated what Castiel said to him.

“A witch? What would a witch get out of this?” Sam asked and cast a glance over his shoulder to peek at Richard. The man was still balled up in his blanket crying.

“Who the hell knows or cares? If that man is a witch, then we need to stop him!” Dean growled out. “He probably has that other umbrella at his house!”

“How are we going to get it from him? If we ask him directly about it, he could attack us.” Sam whispered harshly and grabbed Deans arm before his brother could do something stupid. “And we don’t want that happening here where civilians could get hurt or killed.”

“Yeah, well I have my angel and I’m pretty sure that Cas could kick his ass!”

Castiels brows rose for a moment in amusement. “While I have no doubt that I could stop him, I am not sure how I feel about you wanting to use me as a guard dog.” his body filled with warmth at Dean referring to him as his angel. Dean didn’t even seem to realize that he’d said it.

“Dean, calm down.” Sam held up a hand as Dean pulled out of his grip. “I have an idea on how to find out what he knows and if he has that umbrella.” his lips twitched a bit as he fought off the urge to smile. “He still wants to have a drink with you right? Take him up on that offer and let him bring you back to his place.”

Deans eyes flew wide and he started shaking his head. “Absofuckinglutely not! Even if he wasn’t a witch the answer would still be no!”

Castiel moved closer to Dean and put a hand on his shoulder, right on top of his mark. “Don’t worry, Sam and I will follow and be right there should he try someting. It really is the best option.” Dean calmed slightly under Castiels touch causing the shorter man to smile a bit.

“If he is controlling the Sandman somehow, if we take him out then it will give us an easier time with the Sandman. It may even stop on its own.” Sam added, unable to hide his smile this time.

Dean unconsciously leaned into the touch. “Fine, but you guys owe me for this.” he grumbled and pulled away to go talk to Richard. “Uh, hey Richard. I was wondering...are you still interested in having that drink?”

Richard practically jumped to his feet at the words, a real smile spreading onto his lips. “Of course I am!” he then paused and looked down at his bloody scrubs and sighed. “Uh, I should probably change first before we go. I’ll meet you out front in fifteen?” Richard patted Deans shoulder, right where Castiel had just been holding, before he took off to go change. 

“I hate you both for this.” Dean muttered as he went back over to his brother and the angel.

Once Richard was all cleaned up and changed, he and Dean left to go to the nearby bar for a few drinks. Sam and Castiel waited outside until they finished, then followed behind them at a distance when the pair left to go to Richards apartment. It was harder following them inside, but after Castiel did a little scouting, they found that Richards apartment had a fire escape outside the living room window. The two men sat there, watching through the curtains as Dean talked with him inside. The sky above them was starting to darken from a gathering storm, fitting the mood pretty well.

Nothing in Richards apartment gave away that he was witch. It was neat and clean and there were no occult items anywhere in view. There was even a picture of the Virgin Mary on one of the walls and a rosary hanging next to it. Underneath that was a small table that held a lamp and beside that was a worn looking Bible. Dean was not sure what to think as he looked around the apartment.

“I don’t care if you are here out of pity.” Richard said as he stood in front of Dean, much closer than the hunter felt comfortable with, “I am just glad that you finally took my offer, Dean.” the blond moved even closer to Dean and slid his hands up the hunters chest to rest on his shoulders. “Now tell me, am I as creepy as you were thinking I am?”

Deans hands clenched into fists, fighting the urge to shove the man away. He was seriously going to kill his brother for this. It wasn’t just because he had no interest in the man, but it was cruel to string him along like this. He’d never done such a thing before and he hated that he had to do it now.

“Uh, no, not really. Unless you secretly worship the devil and have an alter hiding in your closet.” Dean said it with a bit of a laugh and a smile. He held the fake smile when he saw the other flinch a bit at his words. Richard quickly smiled and pressed himself up against Dean.

“Is that a new way to ask someone to show you their underwear? You don’t have to play that game with me, Dean.” Richard started pushing Dean backwards towards his bedroom. “If you want to see me naked, just say so.” another push. “If you want to fuck, then just say so.” his voice had dropped and he looked at Dean like he wanted to devour him. 

Dean quickly backed away from Richard, only ending up going farther into the bedroom instead of out of it. He started to go around him to try and get away, but the smaller man shoved him up against the wardrobe with impressive strength. He grinned up at the hunter before leaning up and whispering in his ear.

“Go on, open it Dean. See if I’m hiding any dirty, little secrets.” Richard took a step back to give Dean room to move.

Dean stared at the blond for a moment before turning around and yanking the wooden doors open. What he saw inside made him want to be sick. There was a small alter set up with a big, red candle in the center. There were some charms there along with a couple of old looking scrolls and some incense. That is what Dean was expecting to see. What he had not expected were the pictures of himself. There were at least a dozen of them inside taken at various places; the hospital, out to eat, walking with his brother, and a couple of him in his hotel room.

“Th-the hell is all of this?” Dean slowly turned around to stare at Richard in disgust. “Are you stalking me?”

Richard looked a bit hurt. “I’m not a stalker. I’m just determined to get you to like me. What is the harm in that?” the man was actually pouting a bit now. “I tried asking you out but you kept blowing me off multiple times without even giving me a chance!”

Outside there was a loud roll of thunder, startling both men inside and the two outside still on the fire escape. The sky opened up and rain started falling in buckets, soaking Sam right through to his skin in minutes. The hunter shot the angel a glare since he was still dry as a bone thanks to his angel mojo.

“Look Richard, I’m...flattered that you like me, but I’m already...seeing someone.” At this point Dean was feeling extremely uncomfortable. He also knew that Sam and Cas were just outside and he really didn’t want either of them hearing this conversation. He could imagine the look on Sams face and he didn’t want to know the expression Castiel would make.

Richard surprised Dean again by grabbing him and spinning him around to throw him onto the bed. “Yes, that blue eyed devil, right? I see the way you two look at each other.” he growled out and walked towards the bed, now glaring at Dean as he scrambled up off of the bed. “You belong with me, Dean!” he yelled out.

At the same time a bolt of lightning hit nearby causing the room to light up, and the candle in the wardrobe burst to life. Deans eyes shot over to the candle and stared between that and Richard who was still making his way towards him. His heart was pounding in his chest, fear starting to grow inside, wondering what this man was capable of.

“Richard, calm down and back off. I don’t want to hurt you, but if you don’t knock this shit off, you’re not going to leave me any choice.” his hand started sliding towards the gun in the back of his pants.

“I’m tired of playing nice too. See, we do make a good couple.” Richard brought a hand up and and suddenly Dean found himself pinned to the wall, hands up by his head. “I was hoping to do this naturally, but it doesn’t look like I can.” 

He walked over to his wardrobe and got out a bowl and a knife from one of the drawers, then approached Dean. He gave the hunter a bit of a sad smile, then his eyes became focused as he started concentrating. Latin words spilled from his lips as he shoved Deans shirtsleeve up, then dragged the blade across Deans arm making a cut deep enough for blood to flow. He collected the blood into the bowl he was holding. Dean let out a groan of pain but for some reason could not find his voice to yell for help. Once Richard had enough blood, he moved towards his wardrobe and started drizzling the blood over the red candle, whispering more words under his breath as he worked the spell.

The windows in the livingroom shattered as Castiel and then Sam jumped through them and into the apartment. Before Sam had even regained his feet, Castiel was in the bedroom and holding Richard up off the floor by his neck. Richard struggled against the angels grip, hands clawing at him and feet kicking,none of which had any effect.

“You release him now, or I will kill you!” Castiel growled out. His eyes started to glow a bit with his anger, his power just below the surface waiting to surge out. He was shaking with the strain it took to keep himself under control.

Richard waved a hand, more like flailed it, and Dean was dropped to the floor, cursing. Castiel did not let up his grip on the man, wanting very much to crush his throat, but he managed to hold back. Instead, his eyes flashed again with his power and just scared the human more.

“C-Cas, don’t.” Dean said, his voice rough. “We still need to ask him about the Sandman.” he coughed and cleared his throat to get his voice back to normal, then slowly rose to his feet. He was feeling a bit dizzy and the cut on his arm stung, but he was otherwise fine.

Castiel slowly relaxed and let go of the blond, uncaring about letting him down gently. Richard scrambled backwards until his back hit the wall and he pressed against it and the wardrobe, trying to get as far from the angel as possible. The man had good instincts. 

Castiel looked over at Dean to assess his health and saw that he was fine aside from the slice on his arm, then turned his glare back on the human at his feet. 

“Why are you attacking the kids in the hospital? Why did you kill Karen?” Sam asked from where he stood in the bedroom doorway, preventing Richard from trying to escape.

Richards eyes went wide. “What are you talking about? I had nothing to do with that!” his hands quickly came up in front of him as Castiel stepped towards him. “I swear, it wasn’t me! I have nothing to do with the attacks!” he was crying now and he shrank up further until he was almost in a ball. “I would never hurt children, or anyone else for that matter.”

“You could have fooled me.” Dean said as he held a hand over the still bleeding cut on his arm.

“That was necessary.” Richard said quietly. “I needed a bit of your blood to finish…”

“You were casting a love spell.” Castiel said after looking at the altar. It was the same one he’d seen in the blonds mind. He also felt no true malice coming from him, just a strong need to be loved. “I don’t think he is going to be able to help us with what is happening.”

“So this was all just a waste of time. Awesome.” Dean moved past Castiel and Richard, then Sam, to head to the bathroom to look for something to patch his arm up with.

The room fell silent for a few minutes as the hunter and angel looked at each other trying to figure out what to do with the human. There was no proof that he was connected with the killings, but with him as the only suspect, they did not just want to simply let him go.

Richard slowly got up from the floor but did not move away from where he was. “I swear, I’ve never hurt anyone in my life.”

“You are still a witch.” Sam said, keeping a close eye on him, “Still too dangerous for us to just let you go.”

“You say that with such anger. I guess that means you have not run into any friendly witches?” He got no response to that. “Um, you said something about a Sandman? Is that what is attacking the kids?” at the nod from Castiel, Richard sighed. “Then that would explain why the protection spells I tried didn’t work.”

Castiel looked back at Sam and saw that he was just as surprised to hear that as he was. It was rare for a witch to provide protection for someone other than themselves. If they did, it was minor charms that still came at a high cost to the buyer. With the way that Richard was looking and with the lack of any occult items around, Sam decided to believe what he was saying.

“We believe that it is the Sandman attacking. Part of the mythology is that he steals the eyes from children to feed to his own. Then there is another where he eats people in their sleep.”

Richards eyes went wide as he looked at Sam. “Are you saying that is what happened to Karen? She was...eaten alive? Oh god.” his legs wobbled and his tears started again. “I should have stayed with her instead of running away. Maybe I could have saved her.” His hand came up and clutched at the pendant he wore underneath his shirt, a pentacle, and said a silent quick prayer.

Castiel reached out and put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, startling him. “It was not your fault, Richard. There is nothing that you could have done to stop it. This is a very powerful being that we are dealing with. You probably would have only gotten yourself killed.” 

Loud crash followed by cursing coming from the other room caught Castiels attention and he went to the bathroom to see what the elder hunter was doing. Sam stayed to continue to talk with Richard. Dean was sitting on the toilet with a first aid kit spilled across the bathroom floor, the roll of gauze he had been trying to use was partially wrapped around his arm while the rest was in a pile on the floor. He had dropped the roll and when he’d tried to catch it, had knocked over the rest of the kit sending it crashing to the floor.

“Having problems, Dean?”

Dean rolled his eyes at the angel who stood in the bathroom doorway watching him. “No, I just thought I would redecorate the bathroom while I was in here.”

Castiel stared at him for a moment, his head tilted to the side a bit as he looked over the hunter. He knew the wound was minor and did not need bandages. He also would have healed the hunter had he asked, but instead he had run off. “Did you come in here to hide from the witch?”

“What? No!” Dean said a bit too quickly and looked away, then sighed. “He was just creeping me out. I mean, a love spell? I don’t want to be anywhere near that.” he shuddered.

“Your distance to it would not have changed anything, Dean.” Castiel moved into the bathroom and grabbed the gauze and started rolling it up. “He did not finish the spell so you are safe. I will make sure he makes no attempts to do it again.” When he reached Deans arm, he cut the gauze and set it on the counter, then removed the bloody part around the hunters arm. With a touch of his fingers, the wound healed and vanished without a trace.

“Thanks, Cas.” Dean said softly and looked at Castiels fingers where they were still caressing his skin. 

When he looked up at the angel, he could see desire burning in his blue eyes. He could feel his skin tingling from Castiels power and touch and trembled slightly. His eyes fell closed as Castiel put a gentle hand on his cheek and he leaned into the touch. His lips parted when Castiel ran his thumb over his lower lip and a slight sound escaped his throat. Then as soon as it began, Castiel was moving away.

“You need to be more careful, Dean. If Richard had been a regular witch, you could have been killed by now.” 

Deans eyes shot open and he found himself alone in the bathroom. With a curse, he got up and went back out into the livingroom where he found Sam and Richard sitting on the couch talking while Castiel stood by the windows, just watching. His eyes lingered on the hunter when he came in, giving him a long look and a twitch of his lips, before his attention went back to the other two men.

“I understand what you are saying, but please, let me do this.” Richard looked up at Dean when he entered before he quickly looked away. “It will be my way of apologizing for what I’ve done to your brother.”

Dean looked at his brother with a raised brow in question and Sam gave a slight smile in answer.

“Richard is going to be the bait for us to draw out the Sandman.” Sam said and Richard nodded.

“I think it is your best bet and it is safer than either of you doing it. If he attacks me, I have a chance of driving him off, or at least not dying. If he were to be the bait,” this said with a thumb pointing behind him towards Castiel, “the Sandman would know he was not human right away and would run.”

“Makes sense.” Dean leaned on the chair beside the couch, keeping it between himself and Richard. He wasn’t going to take any chances with a witch, even if he was playing nice for the moment. “We should do it tonight before any more attacks happen.”

Sam shook his head with a frown. “We can’t. We still don’t know how we are going to stop it, or where its other umbrella is.”

“I don’t think we should bother finding the umbrella right now. If the Sandman is already to the point where he is eating people, then I think he is past the point of returning to his normal self.” Castiel had moved away from the windows and was now standing beside the chair Dean was leaning against. “Once we deal with him, we will need to find it. It could be dangerous in the wrong hands.”

“I think I have an idea.” Richard got up from the couch and headed into the room across the hall from his bedroom. After digging around in the closet for a few minutes, he pulled out a large box and from that, a leather bound book. “This was my mothers.” he said as he set the Book of Shadows down on the coffee table before opening and flipping through it. “There are spells in there for binding spirits to objects. If you can’t kill it, maybe you can trap it?”

At the sight of the book, Dean moved behind the chair, bumping into Castiel as he did so. He really, really hated witches. “So, how many spells have you used from that, Richard? You bind spirits often?”

Richard looked hurt and his head dropped. “I have not bound any spirits and the only spells I have worked are for protection.”

“And the love spell.” Castiels voice was hard and it made Richard flinch.

“I’m sorry,” his eyes sought out Dean but the angel was blocking his view. “I should not have done that. I would have paid for it even if you had not stopped me.” he picked up the book and began reading through some of the spells more in depth. “Here. This one is the most powerful of the binding spells.” 

Sam took the book and read through the page of the spell, frowning and then nodded as he finished. “Sounds easy enough and it doesn’t require any special ingredients or blood, just an incantation and the object you want to bind the spirit to.”

“Then let’s get this show on the road.” Dean moved towards the door to leave. “Time to put the Sandman to sleep.”


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don't go as planned and Dean ends up seeing some people he never wanted to see again.

It was not easy convincing the police officers stationed at the hospital to stay off the second floor for the night. It was even harder to get Betty and the aides to stay away for a few hours, but in the end, Betty had only agreed part way. The aides would stay off the floor but Betty herself refused and would stay at the desk out of the way. The children here were sick and she would not leave them without help should something happen.

Castiel had set up protective wardings in each of the children's rooms, but then had to leave so the Sandman would not sense him. He would only be a prayer away and he would be watching to make sure everything went as it should. Richard had gone into one of the empty rooms, no protection, and lay down on the bed to wait for the Sandman. Dean and Sam waited at the desk with Betty to make sure the Sandman took the bait. 

Reluctantly, Sam and Dean had to fill Betty in on what was happening so she understood the danger and not try and enter the room. She tried to busy herself with her work at her desk, but it was obvious that she was scared and she kept looking down the hall towards the room Richard was in. She was also worried about the kids.

“How long do you think we will have to wait?” Sam asked quietly to his brother who was currently pacing around the hall. 

The only sounds that they could hear was that of the machines in the rooms monitoring the patients and from Betty working on her computer. The rain had even fallen to a soft sprinkle and was barely audible. Every now and then Deans shoes would squeak on the polished floor as he turned from his pacing and it would echo down the halls.

“He has not come at the same time any of the nights, so who knows?” Dean looked at his watch and saw that it was almost 2:30a already. “I’m going to walk by the room, make sure everything is okay.”

There had not been any noise so far from any of the rooms, but that was what had been bothering the elder hunter. It was too quiet. When he was a few doors down from Richards room, a very quiet and almost inaudible voice reached his ears. He slowed for a moment and frowned as he tried to hear what it was saying. When he was one door away, he could finally make out the words; ‘tick tock, tick tock, tick tock’ over and over again. When he got outside of Richards room, his eyes flew wide at the scene.

Richard was still on the bed, but his eyes were missing and his guts were hanging out of him and all over the bed, the sheets soaked through with his blood. One of his hands lay on the floor, the talisman they were going to use to trap the Sandman in still clutched tightly in its fingers. Before Dean could shout for his brother, his vision swam and he blacked out, a shadowy figure in the room catching the corner of his eye and he heard laughing as he lost consciousness.

Dean woke up about fifteen minutes later and he knew instantly that he was no longer in the hospital. Or at least he wasn’t in the undamaged version. He lay in the rubble of a burned down building, just like all the other buildings around him. Nothing stood over a story high and the sky was black with smoke from buildings that still burned.

As he slowly sat up, he couldn’t help but feel like he was in the future again; it looked the same as what happened with the Croatoan virus. Somehow he knew this was different. 

As he slowly got to his feet, the hunter rubbed his arms. There was a strange energy in the air and it was making his skin crawl. There was a putrid smell in the air that he knew to be burning flesh and his stomach clenched. That was a smell he would never be able to forget. He smelled it all the time when he was down in Hell. The only reason he knew that he was not in Hell now was because it was too quiet. If it were Hell, there would be endless screams as souls were tortured and screamed to to be set free. Screams he heard up close when he was the one doing the torturing.

Not having any other option, Dean made his way through the rubble and down to the road, pausing to read signs along the way. They confirmed that he was still in Boston and that was the childrens hospital he had just crawled out of. His stomach sank again, this time in worry. Where was Sam and what the hell happened?

“Sam!” his voice echoed around and sounded louder due to the lack of buildings and other sounds around him. “Sammy, where are you!”

“Dean!”

Dean froze in his tracks when he heard Sams voice calling back to him, then he was running in the direction it had come from. He stumbled over pieces of debris as he ran, at one point falling down and slicing his arm open, but he continued on. His lungs were starting to burn from the smoke and from running, but he would not stop until he found his brother. Sam was still calling for him and he sounded like he was in pain.

“Sam, where are you?” Dean was breathing hard now and he still had no idea where his brother was. 

His heart pounded in his chest with fear that Sam would stop calling before he found him. That he would be too late to save him, just like before. He had to stop for a moment to catch his breath and only ended up inhaling even more smoke. His eyes were also watering from the burn of the smoke, but he just wiped the tears away. 

“Dean, help me!” Sam called again, a loud and pain fill scream following is words.

Dean was off running again, this time faster than before, and he only stopped when he found himself back at the destroyed hospital.

“What the hell is going on!” he yelled in frustration. He had not made any turns, but still had ended up back where he’d started. He kicked the hospital sign and let out another string of curses. 

The sky was dark and there was thunder, but there was no rain or lighting. Looking around again, Dean could see a forest in the distance that was lit up as fire ate through it. He still had not seen a single person around, or even any bodies even though the smell of burning flesh was strong. It had become stronger since he’d been awake. There was also a lack of any blood and that worried him rather than give him comfort. Something was definitely wrong here.

As he leaned against the hospital sign catching his breath, he looked up at the sky. Where was Castiel while all this was happening? The angel had always shown up whenever he was in danger before. Was the angel himself in trouble now? Dean called out to the angel first in his head in a silent prayer, then vocally. He yelled until his rough voice became rougher and he went into a coughing fit.

“D-Dean,” Sams voice was close by this time, and sounded weak. “please…”

Dean spun around to face the voice behind him only to stumble back a few steps. The hospital was no longer burnt down, but only the bottom level was intact.

“Seriously, what the hell is going on?” Not waiting any longer, Dean ran inside. “Sam!”

He looked around but did not see him right away, so he continued on. He turned down one hall and then another before it opened up again at another reception area. There he found his brother strapped to a rack like there was down in hell, covered in blood, a deep wound in his stomach and some pieces of him missing. There was a tray beside him with bloody parts on it; an ear and some fingers, along with familiar tools of torture.

Dean was at his brothers side in an instant, pulling at the straps, but he stopped when Sam cried out in pain.

“Please...stop, Dean.” Sam panted, tears causing streaks to run through the blood on his cheeks. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Dean asked, then his eyes went wide. 

He himself was covered in blood, none of it his own, and in his hand he held a wicked knife with a serrated blade. The same one he used when he was torturing souls down in hell. The knife clattered to the floor and he backed away from his brother. He stared at his hands and they were covered in his brothers blood like his clothes and he suddenly had images of himself torturing his brother flowing into his head.

“No! no, no, no! This isn’t happening. I didn’t…” Dean dropped to his knees, not even realizing he was now kneeling in a puddle of his brothers blood, and grabbing at his head. “Cas! Cas, where are you!” he began yelling again at the top of his lungs. He got to his feet and tried to stop his brothers bleeding, but there was too much blood and nothing to put over the wounds. “Castiel! I need you!”

There was a flutter of wings and Dean turned around to see Castiel standing there, back in his suit and trench coat, and looking as he ever did. When he saw the scene before him, he winced in pain at seeing Sam, but then focused on Dean. The hunter was falling apart and if he didn’t work fast, Dean would break.

Dean grabbed Castiel by the arm and dragged him towards Sam, tears running down his cheeks. “Cas, save him! Please, I...I don’t know what happened.” his hands were shaking and his stomach was clenching again. “I think I did this to him. I remember cutting into him…”

“No, Dean.”

Behind them Sam was still whimpering and begging Dean to stop hurting him, his voice quiet from weakness and loss of blood. Whenever Dean moved near him, he would flinch away as best he could, but the bindings did not allow him much movement.

“What the hell do you mean, ‘no’?!” Dean grabbed Castiel by his coat lapels and shook him. “You better fucking help him Cas, or I swear to God…”

Castiel very calmly put his hands on Deans upper arms and held him in place. “There is no need to help him. This isn’t real, Dean.”

“What?” Dean turned back to face Sam but the scene was still the same. His brother was still bleeding out and begging for him to stop hurting him. He could taste his brothers blood in his mouth and feel it coating his skin. He reached out and touched Sam again and he felt solid under his hand. Real.

“This isn’t-” Castiel was cut off with a flap of wings and when the hunter turned back to him, the angel was gone.

“Cas?!” 

Dean went out the front door of the hospital and looked around, but everything was just as it was when he first woke up. When he went back inside, his brother was dead and another body lay nearby on the ground. This one was the nurse, Betty, or what was left of her. She had been carved up until she was mostly just bone and chunks of flesh. The only reason that Dean knew who it was, was because most of her face was still intact. He felt the weight of the blade in his hand again and threw it without even looking at it.

“No!”

Once again Dean ran, but this time he wasn’t running towards something but away. Castiel had said this wasn’t real, but it sure as hell felt real. The smells were real and that knife he’d been holding had been real too. He could taste the smoke and feel his lungs burning as he ran. He could feel the wind blowing against him. It was too real to be a hallucination. 

Then, for the first time since he’d woken up here, he heard a sound that was not Sam. He knew instantly what it was and panic and fear filled him. Then he ran faster, trying to find somewhere to hide but it was impossible when everything was burned to the ground. The growls and barks of the hell hounds were getting closer, and he knew he could not outrun them. 

When he rounded the large pile of debris caused by a fallen sky scrapper, Dean slid to an abrupt stop. He came out in what should have been a park, but instead there were piles and mountains of bloody corpses. There were also racks that held more corpses and Dean felt himself shaking when he realized there were three men standing among the bodies, all smiling.

“Oh, Dean, welcome to the party. I hope you don’t mind that we started without you.” Lucifer stood at the top of the largest pile, his white suit covered in blood. At the bottom on the ground stood Alistair and Azazel, both also covered in blood and smiling. “Did you enjoy slicing up your brother? I must say, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I told you he was born for this.” Alistair said almost proudly. “He is my best student.”

“He may be good at torture, but he’s still a coward.” Azazel added, his yellow eyes flashing. “Running away as usual. Though this time he has a good reason to.”

Lucifer chuckled and looked down at Dean, smile still in place. “Poor Dean, about to become puppy chow again.”

The growls and barking were right behind him now, only feet away. Dean watched as bloody paw prints appeared on the ground as the hounds walked through the gore towards him. He was surrounded, and very much shit out of luck. When a knife landed at his feet, he looked up to see Lucifer with a hand up.

“It’s no fun just watching them go at you like a steak. How many can you kill before they kill you?” his eyes moved around the area, counting the hounds. “I’ll tell you what. You kill half of them, which is four by the way, and I’ll send them back. Then you can help us finish up carving.”  
There were suddenly new, living, people tied to the racks around the area, all fighting and screaming trying to get away.

Dean quickly picked up the knife Lucifer had thrown him just in time as one of the hounds started attacking him. He yelled in pain as he felt sharp teeth sink into his lower leg and with a growl, he drove the knife down into the beasts head. If they were biting him, he would know where they were, but he couldn’t let them keep biting him or he’d be dead in an instant. These dogs did not claw and bite shallow; one mistake and it was over.

He managed to kill two more before he was overpowered and knocked onto his back. He yelled in agony as they tore into him, just like before, going right for his stomach and chest. Soon he could do no more than gurgle and choke on his own blood. The hounds stopped tearing into him and he was alone again, but only for a moment.

“Dean!” Castiel was at his side again, slightly bloody and looking afraid. “Dean, this isn’t real! You are not dying!” the angel shook his shoulders and Dean made more choking sounds. “This isn’t real! You need to wake up!”

“Always ruining the fun, Castiel.” Lucifer was suddenly behind the angel, a look of disgust on his face. “I see I will need make you explode aga-” he was cut off as he was the one to explode into pieces. Alistair and Azazel vanished next along with the screaming humans. 

Dean tried to focus on Castiels face, but everything was blurry and he was in too much pain. His eyes fell closed and after a moment, he felt heat against his skin. His eyes cracked open and he saw a bright light so had to shut them again. He was starting to feel dizzy and barely registered the feeling of lips against his own. His pain started fading away and soon Castiel the only thing in his mind.

“Dean, this isn’t real. Come back to me.” Castiel whispered against the hunters lips before kissing him again.

With a shuddering sigh, Dean went limp as everything went white.


	9. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean wakes up and things start to wrap up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter after this!

The next time that Dean opened his eyes, he found himself flat on his back on the floor in the middle of the hospital room. His eyes slowly cracked open, wincing against the bright light over his head, before he saw two figures beside him. He suddenly bolted upright, gasping for breath and clutching at his chest, and tried to move away from the two men. 

“Dean, stop, it’s us!” Sam said loudly and grabbed his brother by the arm to hold him down from trying to stand up. 

“Dean,” a deep raspy voice to his right spoke and the hunter stilled instantly. “You are safe now. Please calm down and your mind will re adjust.”

The elder Winchester stopped struggling to get away and leaned back against the bed that was behind him, still clutching at his chest and eyes filled with terrifying memories. He looked up at Sam and saw him holding the amulet which glowed slightly, letting him know that the spell had worked. Sam gave him a shaky smile and then left the room like Castiel had asked him to before Dean awoke.

Castiel was kneeling beside him and holding one of his hands, his blue eyes filled with concern. His coat was torn and bloody in places from the fight but there were no longer any scratches on the angel.

“What the hell happened, Cas?” Dean asked as he looked down at himself. He felt phantom pains from where the hellhounds had torn into him, but there was not a scratch on him. There was, however, blood on him in various places, soaking through his clothes and making him sticky.

The hunter suddenly found himself wrapped in the angels arms and pulled tightly against his chest. Castiel buried his face in Deans neck and let out a shuddering breath.

“I thought I’d lost you.” the angel finally said, then lifted his head to meet wide green eyes. “If you’d waited a moment longer to come back…”

Dean slowly relaxed in the others arms and gave him a smile. “You are very persuasive.”

Castiel chuckled and brought a hand up to cup his hunters cheek. “I am glad. You can be very stubborn, Dean.”

“Damn straight.” Deans smile turned into a grin as he threaded his fingers through the angels dark hair, pulling him closer so that their lips brushed when he spoke. “Now that I’m awake, why don’t you show me how you persuaded me to come back, hm?”

Castiel let out a bit of a growl as he crushed their mouths together, wrapping his arms even tighter around Dean and pulling the other male right onto his lap. Their tongues fought for dominance and as usual Dean was stubborn, but Castiel was determined and soon Dean surrendered with a moan.

Dean was not a passive lover even if he did surrender to the angels kiss. He shifted on Castiels lap so that he was straddling him, then rocked their hips together, causing them both to moan into each others mouths. One of Castiels hands left Deans back to slide down to his ass, pulling him more firmly against him, then rocked up into him. Deans hands dropped down to Castiels shoulders and dug his fingers into him while his legs squeezed his thighs, pulling himself as tight as possible against his lap.

“F-fuck, Cas.” Deans voice came out more air than sound and soon he whimpered when the smaller male caught his lower lip between his teeth. Just as Deans hands left the angels shoulders and moved down to the buttons on his shirt, Castiel grabbed them and forced him to stop. “Cas?”

“As much as I would enjoy taking you here,” his voice was even deeper and Dean visibly shivered, causing the angel to smirk. “We are still in the middle of a job. No to mention we are sitting in the middle of a crime scene.”

When Dean turned his head, he caught sight of the severed hand on the floor a few feet away. It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him and he let out a different kind of groan this time. He shifted to stand but Castiel held him for a moment longer to give him a chaste kiss.

“Do not worry, I fully intend on...persuading you thoroughly later.” With another nip to the hunters lower lip, the angel let him go so he could get to his own feet.

Dean chuckled, his green eyes shining in amusement. “Oh, you better. I don’t want to have to wait until I’m near death again for you to make a move.”

“With how often that happens with you, I don’t think you would be waiting too long.” Castiel chuckled as Dean punched his shoulder in mock offense before he started laughing.

When Sam entered the room, his brother and Castiel were in each others space, giving each other looks that Sam didn’t even have to put effort into figuring out what they meant. When Dean saw him come in, the elder Winchester took a step away from the angel and cleared his throat. Sam knew better than to question what was going on between them so he pretended that he hadn’t seen it.

“I’m glad to see that you are no more screwed up than normal.” Sam rolled his eyes as his brother flipped him the bird. “Now that you are awake, we need to figure out what to do with this.” he held the amulet up for a moment before he put it into his inside pocket. “Any ideas?”

“I don’t think that it would be a good idea for me to take it. It can be dangerous even in an angels hands.” 

“Hey, what about in Dads storage? If we can’t kill the bastard, at least we can lock it into a box and hide it away.” Dean turned to look down at Richard. A sheet had been pulled over him, but Dean had already seen what had happened. “Poor bastard.”

“That may be the safest bet until we can figure out everything else. We still don’t know where that other umbrella went.” Sam was quiet for a moment, his eyes looking over his brother carefully. “Dean, what did you see?”

Dean froze in place before slowly turning to face his brother, his face grim. He thought about telling him nothing and to mind his own business, but he knew his brother would just keep pestering him about it. Castiel gave him a sympathetic look but kept silent. It was Deans story to tell.

“Eh, not much. I was here in the city but it looked like the Croatoan virus had destroyed it. Lucifer, Azazel and Alistair were there...with hellhounds. Throwing a hell of a party.” He grinned at his own joke but the other two men were not amused. He met his brothers gaze and held it and his smile fade. “I also was apparently torturing you. So, you know, Hell?”

“Jesus, Dean.” Sam said and took a step towards his brother but stopped when he held up a hand.

“I’m fine, Sammy. I know it wasn’t real. Even if it felt real.” One of Deans hands moved to his chest for a moment where the hellhounds had tore into him. “But whatever, it was just a nightmare and nothing to freak out about.” He had no desire to go into further details about the nightmare or to talk about his feelings. He wanted to get out of this room and to finish up with the job as quickly as possible. “If there is nothing else we can do right now, we might as well head to the motel.”

The rain had picked up to a heavy downpour sometime while Dean had been unconscious and the trio looked outside dreading getting wet. The hospital was busy again with the police and staff running around now that they were allowed back on the floor. When they got downstairs to head outside, they found nurse Betty standing by the door with her umbrella, chatting with one of the aides.

“I really hope this is the end of everything.” Betty said with a sad smile when she saw the boys. The aide excused herself to get back to work. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget this. And the children…” she wiped at her eyes.

“Yes, it’s over.” Sam said and gave her a bigger smile. “I promise.”

Dean saw Castiel stiffen beside him and he looked at the angel with a raised brow. “Cas?”

“Excuse me, but where did you get that umbrella?”

Betty startled at the hard voice and looked down at the umbrella she held in her hand. It was clear but there were iridescent colors to it. If you continued to look at it, it looked as if the colors were moving. Nothing about it seemed unusual or supernatural at all. It looked like an ordinary umbrella you could find at most stores.

“It’s actually Richards. With what happened, I know he can’t use it so thought it would be okay to borrow it.” her cheeks pinked in embarrassment. “I forgot mine at home.”

As the angel continued to stare at the umbrella, Dean frowned, then his eyes went wide. It couldn’t be…

“Cas, is that?” Sam asked, trailing off and unsure of what to do.

Castiel moved forward and touched his fingers to Betty’s head, knocking her out. He caught her in his arms and then gently put her on the couch in the waiting area. Dean picked up the umbrella from the floor where it landed when Betty passed out and looked at it. It did not look like a magical item, but as soon as he touched it he could feel the power in it.

“Hey, is everything okay there?” One of the police officers called from the front desk.

“Yes, she’s just feeling a bit light headed.” Sam said quickly and smiled, hoping the officer wouldn’t ask more questions, “She said she was going to rest a bit before she left.”

Once they were in the clear, the three men put their heads closer together so they would not be overheard. 

“She said that it was Richards, but I believe him when he said he did not know what was going on.” Castiel said, still frowning. “I don’t think that he was lying to me. He was too afraid to.”

“So you’re thinking that he didn’t know what this actually was?” Dean opened up the umbrella and looked at it more closely but nothing was happening. Maybe there was some trick to making it work or he just didn’t have the power for it. “What are the chances of a witch not recognizing a magical item when they touch it? Even I can feel the power in this thing.” 

“We’ll never know for sure now that Richard is dead.” Castiel took the umbrella from Dean and closed it back up. He smirked at the pout Dean gave him as his ‘toy’ was taken away. “Either way, I need to take this somewhere safe. It could still be dangerous in the wrong hands.”

Sam nodded. “We’ll go to our dads storage and take care of the amulet. It’s still probably the safest thing to do for now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for how this ends. I thought of a few different ways that it could go, but I thought they would be too obvious. So in a way, I left it open. Because I can. *evil laugh*


	10. Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel makes good on his promise to Dean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story rating is finally earned!  
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, watches and faves. I hope everyone enjoyed this story. I will have a new one up soon!

It took a day and a half drive to get to the storage unit, even with Dean driving twenty miles over the speed limit most of the way. The elder hunter only stopped once for gas and food, surprising the hell out of his brother and instantly making him suspicious. When asked about it, Dean would just smirk and say that he was in a good mood. 

The were able to quickly find a box in the storage unit already carved with warding spells and a strong seal. Sam wrapped the amulet up in a special cloth for extra measure before placing it inside the box. The box was then locked up and put into a safe in the back of the unit were a few of the more dangerous artifacts were kept. Once they made sure everything else was in place, they left.

When they finally stopped at a motel to get some sleep, Sam was starting to put things together when Dean booked two rooms, making sure they were not next door to each other. If he was going the extra distance to keep space between them, Sam knew something was definitely up.

“You don’t mind, right Sammy?” Dean was practically bouncing on his toes. “It’s been awhile and I could really use some-”

He held up his hand, stopping his brother from saying more than was necessary. “It’s fine.” Sam took his key from his brother, then shook his head at him with an amused expression on his face. “So, you and Cas finally hooking up?”

Dean looked startled, then embarrassed like a kid who got his hand caught in the cookie jar. “What do you mean, ‘finally’? I didn’t even know what the hell was going on until recently!”

Again, Dean had thought about lying to his brother, but at the same time, he did not want to hide it. If this thing was turning into a relationship, he didn’t think that it would be fair to Castiel. Not to mention he would not be able to hide it for long, if at all. Though apparently it would have been wasted effort if Sam, and who knows who else, already thought he and Castiel were together. He couldn’t help but chuckle at that fact. Apparently it was obvious to everyone else except the two involved.

Sam rolled his eyes, “That is because you are dense.” then he grinned, “Have fun, jerk.”

“Shut up, bitch.” the elder Winchester said, grinning back, then winked, “and I most definitely will.”

“Dude, gross.”

The brothers then each headed to their rooms, opposite ends of the hallway, and Dean locked his door. He peeled himself out of this sticky clothes and tossed them into the bathroom sink to clean later before he took a nice, hot shower. The water pressure was heavenly and he could have stayed in there forever, but he had more important things to do. He wrapped a towel around his waist and then grinned as he prayed to Castiel. The angel appeared instantly.

“Hello, De-” Castiels voice caught as he took in Dean leaning against the bathroom door frame, dripping wet and wearing only the towel around his waist and a smirk on his face. “Dean.” he growled out and then was on the hunter in an instant.

Castiel had changed back into more casual clothes when he’d left the brothers at the hospital, and now he was glad he had. Wearing only a t-shirt and jeans allowed him to feel Deans heat through his clothes and it only turned him on more. He gripped Deans hips tight as he continued to dominate the kiss before turning the hunter around and slamming him up against the nearest wall.

Dean let out a grunt before chuckling, “Can’t resist me can you, Cas?” He closed his phone and tossed it to the side somewhere, Castiel having already tossed his.

Castiel stood back at arms length before reaching forward to rip off Deans towel and toss it into the bathroom. His blue eyes moved slowly over the others body, taking in every inch of him even though he already knew everything about him. His eyes caught a drop of water as it slowly slid down the hunters body to his navel. He dropped to his knees and leaned forward to lick it out, causing Dean to let out a groan and thump his head back against the wall. Fingers tangled into the angels hair and Dean couldn’t stop himself from arching towards him.

Castiel smirked against his skin and ran his tongue around Deans navel again before dipping inside once again, then started to follow the path of fine hairs down. He had not intended on rushing right to the bottom, but he could not resist tasting Dean.

The angel buried his nose against the base of Deans cock, inhaling his scent mixed with that of the soap he used in the shower. He turned his face so that his lips pressed against the hard heat and Dean shivered, his grip tightening in the angels hair, words of encouragement falling from his lips. Very slowly, Castiel ran his tongue from base to tip, then placed a kiss on the blood filled head before lapping at the slit.

“Fuck!”

Castiel wrapped a hand around Deans cock and squeezed it firmly as he swirled his tongue around the head. “You approve?” Dean could hear the smirk in his voice.

“Yes I approve! Don’t fucking stop!” he wiggled his hips causing his cock to run across Castiels lips. “Please.” he added and actually whimpered a bit when the angels mouth moved and his touch became feather light.

“That is better. I thought I would have to punish you for being rude.” Castiel ran his tongue from base to tip again and grinned up at the panting hunter. “Maybe I’ll do that later.”

This time Castiel took Dean into his mouth and slowly sank down on him, his lips barely light enough to cause friction, and making Dean writhe against the wall. When he got most of the hunter into his mouth, only then did his lips wrap firmly around him and start providing suction. He continued to work Dean slowly with his mouth while one of his hands gripped his hip to hold him still, the other still wrapped around the base of Deans cock in a firm but non-painful grip. Every time his mouth would reach the head of the hunters cock, he would swirl his tongue around it and then suck on the underside, occasionally using his teeth lightly, leaving Dean in a whimpering, trembling mess. The next time he took Dean all the way in, the hunters hips surged forward with a long moan.

“Shit, sorry!” Dean panted, his hands clawing at the wall, searching for something to hold but finding nothing. “Couldn’t help it.”

Castiel looked up at Dean and smiled slowly, his hand coming off the hunters hip, then placed a kiss on the head of his cock. “If that is what you want, then take it. Don’t hold back, Dean.” he then took Dean all the way into his mouth again and swallowed around him, causing the other to cry out.

Deans hips started thrusting slowly and shallow at first, not wanting to hurt the angel, but when he realized the other had no gag reflex and seemed to be enjoying it if his moans were something to go by, his pace picked up. Soon he was fucking into Castiels mouth with abandon, fast and deep thrusts, tearing moans out of him that got louder the longer he went on. When his hips lost their rhythm, Castiel grabbed him and took him in all the way and swallowed around him again and hummed.

Dean lost it and fell over the edge, “C-Cas, fuck!” his hips jerked against the angels hands as he continued to thrust into his angels mouth as the other sucked him dry. When his orgasm finally passed, he cracked his eyes open to look down at Castiel who was looking up at him and smiling, licking the last traces of Deans release from his lips. “That was…” he panted and let his head thump back against the wall. “That was the best blowjob I’ve ever had.” he wasn’t lying either, and he’d had too many to count.

Castiel chuckled as he rose to his feet, then kissed the hunter, “I am glad you enjoyed it. We are far from done though, Dean. I believe I said I am thoroughly going to persuade you. This was just a teaser.” 

Deans legs started to shake and only part of it was from the blow job. If Castiel made his mind and body go numb just from that, he couldn’t imagine how the rest was going to go. He’d never been so excited for anything in his entire life. His hands gripped Castiels shirt and tugged on it, wanting nothing more than to see his angel naked.

The angel smiled and took a step back. “Get on the bed, Dean. Now.”

Deans cock twitched at the tone of Castiels already deep voice. It turned him on like nothing else when the angel got all controlling like that. He was so used to being the one in control and having to be strong for his brother, it was nice to let go. Dean moved past him and ran over to the bed, jumping onto it and bouncing into place. He lay down but sat up on his elbows so that he could watch the other, green eyes locked with blue.

“Now get your sexy ass over here and show me what you’re made of, Angel.” the hunter licked his lips slowly. “But first, you need to get rid of those clothes.”

Castiel continued to smirk and just stood there, his gaze devouring Dean like a wolf eyed a lamb trying to figure out where to start first. His hands moved to the hem of the white shirt he was wearing and slowly tugged it off, one teasing inch at a time until it was off and dropping to the floor. Dean was now looking at him like he was the lamb and it only encouraged him to continue. He toed off his shoes while he removed his shirt so it wouldn’t throw him off. He stopped sliding his pants down right before his cock was free and Dean groaned in anticipation. The angel turned his back to the hunter and gave him another teasing view as he wiggled his pants down a bit further before facing him again. With a wink, Castiel pushed them the rest of the way down until he was freed. His cock was dark and hung heavy between his legs, a slight curve to it that would make hitting certain spots inside his lover that much easier, and was just above average in length and thickness. As he moved towards the bed, Dean sat up stared openly at him.

“Damn, Cas, you are gorgeous.” Castiel wanted to correct him and say that this wasn’t him, just his vessel, but he remained silent to which Dean was thankful for. This was his body now. “Don’t just stand there, c’mere already.” he crawled to the end of the bed so he could pull Castiel onto it. They both fell together and laughed as their heads bumped together.

Dean pushed Castiel down and straddled his hips, then just looked down at him, his pupils still blown wide with lust, and smiled. His hands moved to cup the angels cheeks before giving him a chaste kiss before it deepened and became possessive. His hands were once again curling into Castiels hair and tugging lightly, then harder until he tipped his head back and his mouth moved to attack the newly exposed skin.

Castiel let out a long groan and arched up into Dean when the hunter bit him and then sucked a good sized bruise on his neck, marking him. The hunter chuckled against his skin before his mouth moved down and started sucking another spot onto the angels chest just above one of his nipples. Then he attacked the nipple with tongue and teeth leaving the angel gasping beneath him, only to kiss across his chest to give the same treatment to the other. While Deans mouth was busy, his hands also did not stay idle. One hand slid around to grab the angels ass while the other slide down his stomach to wrap around his cock. When the angel let out a yell and arched up violently, Dean laughed.

“Mm, my angel is sensitive.” he gave the angels cock another squeeze before starting with long and slow strokes. “I’m going to make you fall apart, Cas.”

“D-Dean.” Castiel choked out, his nails digging into Deans shoulders for support. He was then surging forward to capture the hunters lips in his own and kissing him deeply. “You already made me fall.” he was panting and thrusting his hips up into Deans hand as the other continued to stroke him. “I don’t see how you could make me fall even further.”

Dean grinned, “Challenge accepted.”

The hunter then began aggressively attacking the angel with his mouth, leaving bite marks and hickies various places over his body, his hands squeezing his hips tight enough to leave finger shaped bruises later in order to keep the angel on the bed. Castiel was already a whimpering mess but when Dean took him into his mouth, he let out a cry high enough that the light bulbs exploded and the windows rattled. If his mouth wasn’t busy sucking the angel off, he would have a cocky grin on his face.

While he had never been with a man before, Dean was not shy about sex. He could pick up on the things his lovers liked or disliked as he went along. He started doing things that he himself liked and then went from there. Unlike himself who liked to go deep with stronger suction, Castiel was thrashing about the most when Dean used more tongue and a bit of teeth. Castiels hands were clutching the comforter tightly and his hips shook from trying to keep still so he wouldn’t slip from Deans mouth. He only put up with it for a minute longer before he was pushing Dean away.

“Wha-UT?!” Dean was pushed backwards and down against the mattress so suddenly that he had not been prepared for it. “Cas?”

Castiel let out a lust filled growl that went straight to Deans cock. The angel once again straddled him and this time he was returning the bites and licks and for good measure he squeezed his mark on Deans arm. That had the biggest reaction so far as the angels grace reacted to the small bit that was left inside Dean, bringing them even closer together.

“C-Cas,” Dean stuttered and wrapped his arms tightly around the angel to keep him from moving for a moment. “You trying to kill me here?”

“Don’t worry, I can bring you back.” he replied with a chuckle and gave the hunter a kiss.

“Dude, not the point!” his hand came down and slapped Castiels ass causing him to jerk forward which in turn caused friction and had them both moaning. “Fuck.”

“I am trying to but you keep stopping me.” Castiel grabbed Deans hands and pinned them above his head, holding his gaze while he did so. “Do you trust me, Dean?”

Dean licked his lips, knowing exactly why he was being asked that question. “With my life.” he replied honestly. At the flash of deep emotion he saw in the blue eyes, he had to close his for a moment before he became overwhelmed. He returned the soft kiss he was given and let out a shaky breath.

Before Dean could ask the angel if he needed lube, the dark haired male was already kissing down his body. The angel kissed up one side of Deans cock and down the other before he slid a hand under each of the hunters legs. He pressed gently on the backs of his thighs and Dean got the hint and pulled them up and towards his chest. His body shook in anticipation and he groaned at the hot look Castiel gave him before his face disappeared from view.

“Sh-Shit! Fucking hell, Cas!” Dean cried out, unable to stop himself as he felt Castiels tongue probing his entrance before slowly working it in. It was odd feeling but at the same time it set his body on fire and left him trying to press closer.

Castiel used his hands to hold Dean open as he licked into him, getting him wet and ready. Soon a finger was joining in, a second and then third following after. As he continued to work open the hunter with his fingers, pressing against his prostate on every stroke, his mouth moved up to suck on his balls. Dean suddenly jerked against him and cried out his name as an orgasm ripped through his body unexpectedly. It had come so fast that he hadn’t been able to hold it back.

Dean lay on the bed gasping for breath and shaking. When Castiel looked up at him, fingers still deep inside of him, he couldn’t help but to laugh a bit.

“Dammit Cas, you’re making me feel like a teenager here.” He’d now come twice and the angel had yet to get off. He was light headed and the pleasure of his orgasm still tingled through his body. “But I didn’t say to stop.” he winked and Castiel nipped his thigh in answer.

Castiel sat up away from Dean so that he could position himself closer. He was too impatient to ask Dean for lube and he was too distracted to use his mojo for it. He spit into his hand before slicking up his cock and positioned himself at Deans entrance. Dean still held his legs up, but they were trembling with tiredness. Castiel leaned forward so he could rest them on his shoulders, then slowly started to slide into the tight heat.

Dean let out a hiss at the slight burn but he wouldn’t call it painful. He’d been through so much in his life that this was nothing. As the angel pushed further into him, the hunter reached up to pull him down for a kiss. Before Castiel was fully seated inside of him, Dean was already moving his hips in encouragement, his fingers digging into the others back.

“Dean.” Castiel groaned his name out and dropped his head to rest on Deans shoulder, waiting a moment to adjust to the tightness around him. It was more intense than he was expecting and he had a feeling he would not be able to last long now. 

When he started thrusting, it was in short and slow strokes, just how he started everything else. As he continued to move inside Dean, his mouth was busy dominating him and making him moan in ecstasy He shifted so he could thrust deeper and Dean howled and arched right up off the bed. Grinning, Castiel gave a particularly hard thrust to the same spot and curses started falling from Deans mouth like a prayer.

“Fuck! Fuck, Cas, don’t you fucking stop. Ah, shit!” 

Dean clawed at Castiels back as he held onto him tightly while at the same time doing his best to meet the thrusts with his own. Every time Castiel hit his prostate, Dean would see stars and more curses would flow from his mouth, along with moans of the angels name that only caused the angel to continue with his brutal pace.

Castiel was panting now as he drove into Dean harder and harder, doing his best to keep Dean screaming his name. He was leaning so far forward now that he had the hunter practically folded in half. He didn’t seem to care or be in any pain and Castiel was not going to stop now. He kissed Dean deeply and his tongue mimicked the same motions his cock was doing. A moment later and Dean was digging his fingers into Castiels back and teeth digging into his shoulder. His body arched up as much as it could while being folded in half, head pressing back into the bed and eyes tightly shut.

“C-Castiel!” His orgasm ripped through him stronger than the first two, his come shooting out in long bursts that went all the way up his chest. His body clamped down tightly around the angel during his orgasm and Castiels hips stuttered in their movements.

“Dean,” Castiel moaned as his orgasm exploded through his body, his voice catching in his throat before it changed and a high pitched sound came out out just long enough to crack the windows and knock the power out in the whole motel. His hips continued to thrust against Deans as his orgasm continued before coming to a slow stop.

He fell forwards onto his elbows after Dean lowered his legs to the bed, both breathing heavily as they came down from their highs. Dean was still shaking and Castiel had his head resting on the hunters shoulder as he got his breathing under control, mouth pressing lazy kisses to the skin within reach.

“Dean, you’re so beautiful like this.” the angels voice was wrecked from his moaning and from his true voice slipping out for a moment. He brushed the backs of his fingers across Deans cheek and he smiled when the hunter opened his eyes.

Dean gave a breathy laugh and kissed Castiel. He let out a long groan as the angel slid out of him and another shudder ran through his body. Castiel lay on his side beside the hunter but kept one arm firmly around the others waist, as if he were afraid Dean would run.

“Where the hell did you learn how to do that?” Dean asked, his green eyes mostly open and watching the angel watch him. “That was just…” he groaned again as Castiel shifted and his leg brushed against Deans spent cock. “Amazing.” 

“Cowboys.” At Deans confused look, Castiel leaned over and kissed his temple, then smiled. “I was watching tv and there was a show on called Bareback Bull Riders. It was not what I was expecting it to be.”

Dean laughed loudly and soon Castiel joined in. Once they stopped, the angel slid his arms around the hunter and pulled him closer to nuzzle his neck. Dean would never admit it to anyone, but he did not mind cuddling after having sex. Mostly it was in hopes of going another round before he took off, but this time, that was not the case. While he would love to go another round, he was exhausted, but he enjoyed being held by the angel.

“Dean, we should get cleaned up.” Castiel said softly and gave Dean a gentle kiss as his hands rubbed small circles into his back.

Dean groaned, “You made me come three times, Cas. I couldn’t stand right now even if I wanted to.” he snuggled closer, “Which I don’t. Can’t you just use some of your mojo and clean us?”

Castiel gave a disappointed sigh, but snapped his fingers. They were both clean and snuggled under the covers. “I was looking forward to cleaning you in the shower.” he pressed slightly against Dean and gave a small smile.

The hunter sucked in a breath when he felt that the angel was already half hard against his leg. “Mm, I bet. We’ll do that next time, okay? I’m going to pass out now.”

“I’m taking that as a promise, Dean Winchester. You better not break it.”

From that time on, Dean always made sure to get two motel rooms, one for his brother and the other for himself and his angel.


	11. 8.2 or While Dean was Sleeping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what happened with Sam and Castiel while Dean was trapped in his nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had started to write this scene but decided to write Deans nightmare instead as I thought it would be more interesting. After a couple comments asking about how the Sandman was trapped and taken down, I decided to go back to that scene and finish writing it. So here is a 'missing scene' from the story. I hope it does not disappoint those of you where were wondering about it.

Sam watched anxiously as Dean headed down the hall to check on Richard. He did not think anything when his brother entered the room until a moment later he heard him yell. Sam jumped over the nurses desk and bolted down the hall, yelling at Betty over his shoulder to stay put no matter what she hears. His heart is pounding in his chest by the time he slides to a stop in the doorway to Richards room.

“Oh God.” Sam entered the room and shut the door behind him in case Betty didn’t listen and tried to come help.

He only spared a glance at Richard who lay on the bed, torn to shreds and laying in a pool of his own blood. He moved into the room and dropped to his knees at Deans side, checking him for injuries and trying to shake him awake. Dean groaned in pain but his eyes did not open.

A sound of someone moving behind him had Sam jumping up to his feet and whirling around, gun in his hand and ready to shoot. His head started to swim a bit and he shut his eyes for a moment to make it stop. When he opened them they widened in surprise before narrowing.

There were shadowy images swirling around on the wall and he could just barely make out something floating in the center of the ceiling, casting an unnatural darkness in the room. The more he looked at it the more it started to look like a very large umbrella. It was slowly turning in the air and the shadows on the walls matched its movements.

Sam spun around again when he clearly felt someone standing behind him. This time he found himself face to face with what he knew to be the Sandman. “Shit.”

The children had been right when they had described him as an old man, but the thing in front of Sam looked more like a skeleton than a living person. The man looked extremely malnourished and like he was already starting to decompose. His skin was so thin that his bones were showing through it or it hung off of him in torn pieces. Some spots, like around his left eye and down to his jaw, the skin was gone and the bone of his skull stuck out. He was mostly bald except for a few strands of hair that hung long and in his face. He wore what looked to be pajamas at one time but they were so torn and dirty now that it was hard to tell. 

The Sandman grinned, revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, and with a flick of his wrist sent Sam flying backwards and into the wall beside Richards bed. He fell to the ground with a groan and slowly got back up to his feet, blinking rapidly to stop the room from spinning.

The Sandman was now kneeling beside Dean on the floor and running his hands over him, one of which was just bones and had no skin on it at all. His mouth opened wide and before Sam could even yell out, he sank his teeth into Deans arm and tore a large chunk of flesh and muscle away. Dean yelled in pain and thrashed a bit but still did not wake up, even when the Sandman dug his fingers into Deans stomach and pulled a chunk out.

“Castiel! Castiel, we need you NOW!” Sam yelled as loud as he could, his gun firing off shots even though he knew they would be useless.

There was a flutter of wings followed by a flash of light that Sam had to close his eyes against. When he opened them, he saw Castiel with his arms around the Sandman and ripping him away from Dean. Sam was instantly by his brothers side, pressing his hands to the gaping wound in his stomach and fighting not to be ill.

“Sam, I’ve got him trapped in here.” Castiel and the Sandman tumbled backwards over some equipment and to the floor. The angel let out a grunt as they struggled, ignoring the claws and teeth digging into him to keep the thing away from Dean. “You can’t worry about Dean right now! The only thing that can save him is to bind this thing. Find the amulet and do it now!”

Sams hands were shaking as they pressed down on the open wound, watching as blood flowed between his fingers and Dean shook under him. When the angel yelled his name again, it took everything he had to move away from Dean. He rubbed the tears that had built up in his eyes and started searching the room for the amulet.

He grit his teeth as he began looking through the blood mess on the bed, moving pieces of Richard to check beneath him and in his pockets. Sam choked down the bile that rose up in his throat as he got more covered in the other man’s blood. At one point he had to stop and pick pieces of the other man off of his lower arms and from between his fingers. Knowing he was human made it so much worse than the times he’s had to handle pieces of Shifters.

“Dammit, where is it?” Sam yelled in frustration as he pulled the pillows from the bed and threw them out of the way. 

He turned when he heard Dean let out more pained filled sounds and he froze when he stepped back onto something. When he looked down, he saw that it was one of Richards hands. Clenched tightly between its fingers was the amulet. As he leaned down to pry it from the dead fingers, Castiel let out a yell as he was slammed into the wall. The angel was doubled over and holding his face, blood running heavily between his fingers.

“Sam, hurry up and do the binding spell!” Castiel lowered his hand to reveal half of his face shredded, his left eye useless. 

Wanting to always be prepared, Sam had made sure that both he and Dean had also memorized the binding spell in case something happened to Richard. He held the amulet up and began chanting the foreign words. The Sandman heard him and made a move to attack him but Castiel was right there and tackling it to the floor again. Sam ignored the fighting and his brother as he focused entirely on the spell and making sure he pronounced everything correctly.

The Sandman started shrieking in pain as the binding spell started to work. Thick black chains appeared out of the shadows and started wrapping around it, forcing its arms down to its sides and preventing it from moving at all. The amulet began to glow softly with a blackish tint as the shadows dragged the Sandman towards Sam and finally into the amulet. Sam did not stop the chant until the glow had faded and everything fell silent.

Until Dean screamed again.

“The Sandman is bound now, why isn’t he waking up?” Sam asked in a panic and rushed to his brothers side. Castiel was already there kneeling beside him with one hand on his forehead.

“He is still connected to the nightmare.” As his blue eyes darted around the room, Sam was startled to see real fear in them for the first time. “There, destroy the umbrella!” the angel pointed up to the hazy outline of the umbrella that was still floating and spinning on the ceiling.

Sam reached up for the umbrella only to have his fingers go right through the handle like it would a ghost. He kept trying but he couldn’t grab it. “It’s not solid, Cas!”

Castiel glared up at the umbrella and his eyes began to glow as his grace rose to the surface. He held up a hand and the air rippled and a tearing sound was heard as the umbrella was pulled into the physical plane. As soon as he could, Sam grabbed the umbrella and closed it, stopping the shadow images from dancing on the walls, and ran into the bathroom with it to burn it in the shower.

Castiel turned his full attention back to Dean. He had already healed the hunters wounds so he was no longer in danger of dying, but he still thrashed and cried out in pain. As the angel touched his mind he found Dean still deep within the nightmare and thinking that it was real. He tried to yell out to him, telling him it wasn’t real, but something kicked him out. Castiel cursed and went back into his mind again. 

“Dean, you need to wake up. This isn’t real!”

Sam came out of the bathroom empty handed having watched the umbrella burn until it was nothing but the metal frame. His stomach dropped when he saw that Dean still had not woken up yet and the angel looked panicked.

“Cas, what’s going on?”

The angel barely spare him a glance, “He is still trapped in the nightmare. He thinks that it is real and it is killing him. If he doesn’t wake up before he dies in there, the only thing left of your brother will be an empty vessel.” Even while he spoke with Sam, Castiel was in Deans head, doing everything he could to pull him back.

As Sam watched his brother and friend, he felt like he was intruding on a private moment. Castiel was gripping Deans shoulder where his mark was and the other was buried in the hunters hair. He stepped into the hall to give them privacy and to let Betty know they were no longer in danger.

“Dean, please wake up.” Castiels voice dropped to a whisper and he leaned forward to press his forehead against the others. “Please, please come back to me.” He pressed his trembling lips against Deans, pouring everything he had into it and wrapping him in his grace to pull him back.

A moment later Dean went still before a long sigh left his lips as he relaxed as the pain left him. And then he woke up.


End file.
